The HC144A enters service at Coast Guard Air Station Miami
April 1, 2010
Deployment of the U.S. Coast Guard's HC144A Ocean Sentry has expanded to the world's busiest air/sea rescue unit - Air Station Miami, Florida - as this Airbus Military-built aircraft continues to demonstrate its capabilities in operational service.
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Air Station Miami received its first Ocean Sentry last month, and ultimately will operate five of the twin-engine HC144As. A second Ocean Sentry is scheduled to arrive later this month, with the third to be transferred in July. Air Station Miami will have its full complement of HC144As by early 2011.
Miami's first Ocean Sentry initially went operational at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama, in February 2009. Even before it formally entered service there, the HC144A had performed its first Coast Guard search and rescue operation – playing a key role in locating a downed U.S. Air Force F-15 pilot from the Gulf of Mexico following a January 2009 mishap.
HC144As have since been used for a broad range of missions, including recent operations to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, earning the aircraft high marks from Coast Guard officials.
The HC-144A is the first all-new aircraft delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard as part of a major recapitalisation of aging assets. The service has received eight of the 11 Ocean Sentries currently on order, with plans to bring its total inventory to 36 HC144As through additional buys.
Ocean Sentry aircraft in service with the Coast Guard are based on Airbus Military’s CN235 tactical transport aircraft. The C295 – a stretched-fuselage version of the CN235 – currently is being proposed for Canada’s Fixed Wing Search and Rescue mission requirement.
Airbus Military North America provides customer support for HC144As – which includes ground training, technical services and spares – from its facility at Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama.
For additional information on Ocean Sentry operations in Haiti, see the Feature story.
- To review previous feature stories, see the archive page.
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