Lets look at this event in a lateral manner and start with this question
Why was this machine based at the airport in the 1st place? Its a helicopter??, why suffer/cause the delays, grief and annoyance of having to operate out of the most congested part of the entire airspace. This and other units should be based in secure remote compounds. If noise is a problem put the compound somewhere away from residences.
It is a
mobile airborne assett and yet people still think in 'fixed wing' 2 dimensional mind sets.
Work backwards:
1 -Get a multi million pound SPIFR/A cat/Flir equiped State of the art piece of machineary
2 - put said Helicopter onto a large flat trolley
3 - Build a hangar and put said helicopter/trolley into Hangar
4 - Put Hangar into a secure compound (no runway/international terminal/ATC tower/multistorey carparks etc needed)
5 - Dig a big moat around said compound and fill it with water
6 - fit a drawbridge.
Right - unless the scroats launch mortars or rappel into the compound, it should all be good.
Seriously, Give me 1 years premium on this machine and I will set up a scroat proof , neighbour friendly, bespoke base.
I think up until now its not been a lack of security thats the problem, its just a lack of imagination!!
If our Ancestors could keep heavily armed armies out of our castles for months on end, I think we can manage to keep some scroats away from a helicopter for a few minutes until the cavalry arrive!!!!!!
I welcome PM's from interested Constabularys who want to discuss further!!