The problem goes deeper than that. The operational advantage of the system prior to the NPAS cuts was based on the credo that "any officer can request Helicopter support" just as he/she could request the attendance of the Police Dog. As soon as the ASU evaluated the call, deciding whether they could provide the service required, they would deploy. Normally the arrival on scene would be less than 20 minutes max. NB 20 minutes from the commencement of the incident, NOT 20 minutes from the call being made.
If the latter criteria were followed then there was a reasonable chance of a successful outcome.
NOW with the jam spread so thin, and distances so great, an effective response is practically impossible, so less and less calls for helicopter assistance are being made. What's the point?
By the time the Helicopter reaches the scene, it will be much too late to help. So today the Helicopter is really only of use in pre planned operations such as marches and demonstrations etc.
Yes before anyone says that is not the case, I would say that there will always be exceptions, especially when the incident is fairly close to a base, but the cold hard truth is that 19 helicopters can never hope to provide the level of service to the Guy in trouble on the ground that 33 could. And remember the guy on the ground can feel very alone and unsupported at times.
Tigerfish
Last edited by tigerfish; 11th Dec 2017 at 15:40.