Counter narcotics operation off Irish coast
 

Good on them,

Cheers
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Well done to the JTF who ran that mission, and of course, well done to the aircrew (yes, I am biased as heck having been a helicopter pilot).

I don't envy anyone having to do that work in an aircraft with a tail-rotor - used to watch the RN doing their Air Plans named after long-legged birds and be amazed at the ability of the observers to do it without spontaneously combusting. We then demo'd how to do it with a 5-roping-point double-headed beastie... simples. Asked the RN boat-driver to start manouevring to make it more interesting and the Chinook was able to maintain a steady hover over the target without difficulty.

Also had the pleasure of sitting next to a future Defence Attache to Moscow while he put a team at sunrise onto a much smaller target than the one shown in Sea State 3-4, then recovered them plus the miscreants they'd arrested by winch (hoist, to the cousins) onto a nearby grey-funnel line vessel.

More information here.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023...hip-operation/