Coordinating helos? Providing them with a Traffic Service? Detecting sizeable boats/ships on the surface?
Surely, this could be covered, should the need arise, by 1 of our 6x E-3D AWACS? I would wager that for the "High Boy" job for LRSAR it is a better platform from the helicopter's point of view? It has a longer loiter, a more powerful RADAR, stacks of radios, AIS (ship transponder detection), SATCOM and a stack of qualified controllers to give a proper service to SAR helicopters.
I see no capability gap in this particular area... (when coupled to Cobham's fisheries protection aircraft) ...now if we couple it to C-130J carrying Lindholme Gear after next year, then we only miss the ASW - and according to the Royal Navy they have this covered by FFs, DDs, SSNs and 'pinging' helos.
Can we please give the "whoe is us, we have
no capability" a rest, please. We have
some capability and we're skint so cannot afford anything else for now.
How about a Christmas truce and a New Year's resolution not to mention the "N" word (no that's not Guy Gibson's dog!)? Let's let her rest in piece as a great maritime aircraft of yesteryear.
iRaven