For Canada's SAR Planes 'tactical grey' is the new yellow

By: David Pugliese, The National Post

Canada’s new search-and-rescue aircraft will abandon their familiar yellow paint scheme, instead getting a makeover that will allow them to be used in other missions, including combat.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has requested that its new fleet of 16 search-and-rescue planes be painted tactical grey and have asked for a change in the original contract which stipulated a yellow colour scheme.

The C-295W, being built by Airbus, will replace the main search-and-rescue fleet of six Buffalo aircraft as well as the Hercules transport planes which are also used at times in a search-and-rescue role.

The Buffalos are painted yellow, as are Canada’s other fully dedicated search-and-rescue aircraft such as the Cormorant helicopters.

Royal Canadian Air Force staff board a Brazilian C-295W plane Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at CFB Trenton, Ont. Luke Hendry/Belleville Intelligencer/Postmedia Network

“The RCAF has made the decision to use a grey colour scheme for the C-295W fleet to enable surging flexibility for the very wide range of missions the RCAF is required to conduct, from humanitarian and disaster relief missions, to security missions with partners, and all the way to full spectrum operations,” Department of National Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said Thursday.

He noted that the Hercules used in the search-and-rescue role are painted grey so they can be used in missions other than rescue.

Sources inside DND, however, have raised concerns about what they say is a unilateral decision by the RCAF leadership. They worry the RCAF used the opportunity to replace the search-and-rescue aircraft as a way to instead outfit itself with a new fleet of multi-mission transport planes.

They said at the time that it provided the high visibility needed for search-and-rescue, both for those in the air and on the ground

When the Liberal government awarded the contract to Airbus in December 2016, cabinet ministers highlighted the importance of having the right aircraft for the search-and-rescue job. “With this technology, we are giving our women and men in uniform the tools they need to continue to deliver effective and essential search and rescue operations,” defence minister Harjit Sajjan said at the time

RCAF insiders defended the change in the paint scheme, saying any aircraft can be called upon to be used in a variety of missions, including in an overseas war zone.

Defence analyst Martin Shadwick said it was the Canadian Forces that decided to switch to the yellow paint scheme in the 1970s because it aided in search-and-rescue. “They said at the time that it provided the high visibility needed for search-and-rescue, both for those in the air and on the ground,” said Shadwick, who teaches strategic studies at York University.

The Buffalos, first purchased in 1967, are key to search-and-rescue on the west coast and in parts of the Rockies and the yellow paint scheme was deemed to be an advantage in those situations.

Shadwick said the decision to have the new fleet of planes available for potential overseas missions raises new questions. Under the existing contract, private-sector employees are going to play the main role in maintaining the planes.

“So, if you are now going to use the C-295 in a front-line role, maybe even as combat transport, does that mean your private-sector workers go along on the overseas mission?” Shadwick said.

The project to buy new search-and-rescue planes took more than a decade. In 2004 the then-Liberal government announced the program as a priority. The project was re-announced by the Conservatives in 2006; the contract was supposed to be awarded in 2009 but continued being delayed for years.

Other questions have also been raised about the purchase. After the contract was awarded, it emerged that the Canadian government made a last-minute change to the amount of money available to spend on its new fleet, but didn’t bother informing the bidders trying to win the contract. Though the program’s budget jumped from $3.4 billion to $4.7 billion, the losing bidder, Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, was still under the impression Canada could only afford to spend the lesser amount and cried foul after tailoring its bid based on that information.

RCAF Squadrons fly to Yellowknife for SAR Exercise

RCAF Press Release

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) squadrons from across Canada are participating in their annual National Search and Rescue Exercise, SAREX 2016, from September 18 to 24, 2016, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Involving nearly 200 participants, the training brings together the Canadian Armed Forces with civilian search and rescue communities, including the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), and other first responders to standardize and evaluate skills. This event follows on the heels of previous successful SAREX events in Gimli, Manitoba (2013), Goose Bay, Newfoundland (2014) and Comox, British Columbia (2015). “For the first time, the National SAREX will experience and overcome the challenges of Search and Rescue in the Northwest Territories, which will provide an exciting Search and Rescue environment. Together, we hope to exercise and showcase all of the important and unique skills of our professional and volunteer organizations,” said Colonel Patrick Thauberger, Commander, 14 Wing Greenwood.

Exercise aims include aerial and ground searches, medical responses, parachute accuracy, as well as land and marine rescues.

Search and rescue response in Canada involves several provincial and government departments, including Public Safety Canada, the Department of National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Transport Canada. A number of volunteer organizations such as CASARA and non-governmental organizations such as STARS (the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) regularly assist in search and rescue operations.

14 Sep – Sergeant Chad Hildebrant surveys the land before Search and Rescue Technicians, Warrant Officer Norm Penny and Master Corporal Ashley Barker parachute out of a Twin Otter aircraft during the National Search and Rescue Exercise 2015 (SAREX15) held at Comox, British Columbia. (Photo: Sgt Halina Folfas, 19 Wing Imaging)

The primary SAR responsibility of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is the provision of aeronautical SAR and the coordination of the aeronautical and maritime SAR system.

CAF resources may also assist in ground search and rescue (GSAR) efforts, medical evacuations, and other humanitarian incidents if requested by the responsible provincial/territorial or municipal authority. The Canadian Rangers, Reserve Force members of the CAF, regularly aid in GSAR upon request in sparsely settled regions of the country.

Approximately one third of the RCAF’s 150 Search and Rescue Technicians are participating in the exercise. Others are on duty and maintaining a 24-hour standby at their respective squadrons around the country.

RCAF squadrons and organizations participating include:
103 Search and Rescue Squadron, 9 Wing Gander, Newfoundland;
413 Transport and Rescue Squadron,14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia;
417 Combat Support Squadron, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta;
424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario;
435 Transport and Rescue Squadron,17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba;
439 Combat Support Squadron, 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec;
440 Transport Squadron, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories;
442 Transport and Rescue Squadron,19 Wing Comox, British Columbia;
The Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue, Comox; and
Representatives from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers from Victoria,Trenton and Halifax.

A variety of RCAF aircraft will be utilized during the exercise, including:
The CH-149 Cormorant helicopter;
The CC-115 Buffalo;
The CH-146 Griffon helicopter;
The CC-130 Hercules; and
The CC-138 Twin Otter.

Other organizations participating formally in the exercise include the following:
Public Safety Canada;
Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
Transport Canada;
Environment and Climate Change Canada;
The Canadian Rangers;
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
Nav Canada;
The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA);
The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS); and
The Yellowknife Airport.

Two Fleets for FWSAR: Specialization can be more Cost-Effective

Written by Canadian American Strategic Review — Editorial

The Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) has held primary responsibility for aerial search and rescue (SAR) over Canada and its territorial waters since 1947. [1] Initially, the dedicated SAR aircraft fleet consisted of patrol aircraft for search (large, four- engined Avro Lancaster Mk.10 SRs ) and flying boats for rescue (the Canadian-made Canso and, later, Grumman Albatrossamphibians). [2]

Helicopters joined these fixed-wing SAR aircraft as rotary-wing technology matured. By the 1970s, Canada's fixed-wing search and rescue fleet had devolved into an ad hoc collection of old tactical transport aircraft – CC-130 Herculesand CC-115 Buffalo STOL transports (which lacked a role). [3]

Fast-forward to 2004 and DND's Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) Project presented no real advance over the 1970s approach. Those ad hoc tactical transport aircraft were to be replaced by purpose-bought tactical transports, without questioning which type of aircraft actually suited the FWSAR role. This approach appealed to Air Force planners focused on bolstering the transport fleet. But, other than providing newer airframes, this procurement approach offered no real enhancement of the actual fixed-wing search and rescue capability.

After a 2010 external review by the National Research Council of the FWSAR Project, DND belatedly acknowledged that fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft might benefit from a more capable sensor than simply relying upon the human eye. [4] As a result, an infrared electro- optical turret was added to a revised FWSAR Statement of Operational Requirements (SOR).

The FWSAR Project has dragged on for a decade because, despite all of the proclamations, neither the Air Force nor the Government of Canada has ever made the FWSAR Project a genuine top priority. [5] This indifference may be, in part, because both bureaucracies know that completing the FWSAR Project will gain them very little in the end. Most of the current complaints about existing FWSAR aircraft relate to lengthy reaction times. But new FWSAR aircraft – still based on transport airframes – will make almost no difference to reaction times.

Idée fixe: Getting away from Fixed Ideas about the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Project

In accordance with the Canadian SAR Manual, an RCAF SAR Major Operating Base (MOB) must have one FWSAR aircraft ready to respond to any emergency call at 30 minutes notice. New FWSAR aircraft would continue to fly out of these MOBs, which are situated far to the south. As a result, response times will be no quicker than before the arrival of new FWSAR aircraft – and transit times to Northern Canada almost as long and just as exhausting for the FWSAR aircraft flight crews. Potential solutions to this FWSAR conundrum emerge from re- examinating the way that the RCAF implemented the aerial SAR when first assigned the role.

As noted, in 1947, the RCAF separated 'Search' from the more complex 'Rescue' functions. Compared to today, SAR bases were more widely distributed. There were very few 'Regular' SAR squadrons. Most of the early RCAF FWSAR aircraft weren't assigned to squadrons at all. They belonged to small, regional 'Rescue Flights' and were flown by RCAF Reservists.

A survivor of that model is Yellowknife-based 440 Transport Squadron. Originally designated a Transport and Rescue Squadron, [6] 440 (T) began as 111 Search and Rescue Flight. Based further north than other RCAF squadrons, 440 members are a mix of Reservists and Regulars. 440's four CC-138Twin Otter aircraft are a tiny number to be designated a squadron, but quite typical for earlier RCAF Air Reserve 'Rescue Flights' – which often held only 3-to-5 aircraft.

'Fixed-Wing Surveillance and Response'? – Re-examining the RCAF's FWSAR Roles

In a modern context, having RCAF Reservists form the crew of 'Search' aircraft has multiple advantages. Currently, the RCAF has been forced to employ foreign pilots due to domestic recruiting constraints (civilians lacking prior military experience) and training budget limits.

With a different approach to FWSAR, this 'experienced pilot' recruiting problem can be side- stepped. Consider a dedicated 'Search' role within FWSAR. By adopting an airframe already in widespread Canadian commerical service, RCAF Reserve crews could be readily recruited. And the ideal airframe for search, surveillance, and monitoring is the Canadian-made Dash 8.

Earlier model Dash 8s (with their greater cruising economy) are operated by airlines throughout Canada – including in the Arctic ( with Air Inuit, Canadian North and Summit Air). [7] In contrast to finding pilots with military aircraft experience, recruiting suitable pilots to become Reservists to crew the 'Search' Dash 8would be comparatively easy. Recruits would have ties to home locations across Canada, with no incentive to stick to the established RCAF SAR MOBs in the south.

The advantages of recruiting Reservist flightdeck crews would also be true for 'spotters'. At present, volunteers from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) often man the 'bubble' windows on the RCAF's FWSAR aircraft. That volunteer resource should not be abused, but it does show that civilians are quite capable of doing the 'spotter' job. And some of the CASARA volunteers might be highly motivated to serve in the RCAF Air Reserve. [8]

Also see: 'Search': The First Element in the FWSAR Project's Interim Solution

FWSAR Primary and Secondary Roles – Tactical Transport is as Tactical Transport does

The primary role for any FWSAR aircraft is SAR. But that has never been all that FWSAR aircraft do. The 'Search' Dash 8 described above is a surveillance platform specialized in the SAR role. However, sensors would allow it to perform a host of surveillance and monitoring roles when not required for SAR duty. What it wouldn't do is carry parachuting SAR Techs.

The 2010 NRC review reaffirmed the Air Force's choice of rear ramps for any FWSAR aircraft dropping SAR Techs. And 'rear ramp' means 'tactical transport aircraft'. The current FWSAR conundrum results, in part, from trying to squeeze some operating economies out of tactical transports. But it doesn't work. Tactical transport is a demanding role and few economies are to be found. The Air Force's attempted solution was to make their tactical transports smaller.

The outcome of the FWSAR project as planned would be unfamiliar new airframes with only marginally better operating economies than the Hercules. But separate 'Search' from 'Rescue' and a superior option appears. Relieved of the need to fly long search patterns, that 'Rescue' aircraft is already more economical. That allows other capabilities – like tactical transport and fleet commonality – to be made higher priorities for the FWSAR Project. Viewed in that light, the ideal 'Rescue' component of this two-role FWSAR approach would be another Hercules.

Also see: 'Rescue': The Second Element in the FWSAR Project's Interim Solution

[1] See online pdf, 'Canada Command SAR CONOPs' (or Concept of Operations) for details.

[2] Secondary responsibility for aerial SAR tended to fall on RCAF 'KU' or Composite Units. Many of the KUs flying utility transport aircraft would evolve into regional 'Rescue Flights'.

[3] The Buffalo had been designed as a short take-off and landing tactical transport. But the Canadian Air Force found little use for these rough-field specialists (outside Arctic supply).

[4] FWSAR now relies exclusively on human spotters augmented with night vision goggles and flares. The revised FWSAR SOR also included, under instruction from government, the consideration of 'Alternative Service Delivery' and to allow for more than one aircraft type.

[5] FWSAR as top priority was 2005 Conservative election promise. However, once elected, the Harper Tories shelved the FWSAR Project in favour of buying C-17 strategic transports.

[6] 440 TRS was redesignated a pure Transport squadron when moved from Edmonton up to Yellowknife in 1995. Despite their yellow paint, 440's Rescue markings were removed in 1999.

[7] Summit's Dash-8/Q100s first flew with Arctic Sunwest (which Summit took over in 2012).

[8] Remaining in one's home community is a recruiting advantage for the RCAF Air Reserve.

Operation NUNAKPUT 2016 concludes in Fort Simpson

DND Press Release: 

Operation NUNAKPUT 2016 ends today in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories after two weeks of maritime patrols and training opportunities that began on July 5. The patrols and training centred around members of 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, as well as search and rescue (SAR) exercises that involved Canadian Armed Forces members, various Governmental Departments and a civilian search and rescue organization.

The importance of this training was validated during Operation NUNAKPUT 2016 when real life incidents involving two separate searches for lost boaters occurred near Lutsel K’e, about 200 kilometres east of Yellowknife. The combined efforts of the RCMP, assisted by RCAF aircraft and crews including a CC-130 Hercules from Winnipeg and a CC-138 Twin Otter from Yellowknife, resulted in the location and successful rescue of the boaters. The SAR training conducted during this year’s Op NANUKPUT ensures that the CAF and partners maintain the ability to respond to events such as this, enhancing the safety and security of all Canadians in the north.

Participants during this year’s operation include members of the Canadian Rangers; the Canadian Army; the Royal Canadian Navy; the Royal Canadian Air Force, including Yellowknife-based 440 (Transport) Squadron; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Department of Fisheries and Oceans; the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Yellowknife Unit); Parks Canada; Department of the Environment and Climate Change; and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association.

Operation NUNAKPUT is an annual sovereignty operation with a marine focus, traditionally conducted along the Mackenzie River in conjunction with several federal government departments and other supporting agencies. This year, Operation NUNAKPUT focused on the South Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake regions.

“I am extremely impressed by how our soldiers, sailors, and airmen and airwomen are able to efficiently and effectively operate in tandem with other government departments during scenarios like those conducted throughout Operation NUNAKPUT 2016. The real life search and rescue incidents that ended successfully on Great Slave Lake during this year’s operation highlight the value of practicing these skills and exchanging knowledge between organizations, enhancing the safety and security of people living in the North.”— Brigadier-General Mike Nixon, Commanding Officer, Joint Task Force (North)

An RCAF Icy Rescue

RCAF Rescue Story:

Transcript Warrant Officer Aaron Bygrove: We parachuted and were able to rescue two hunters and a helicopter pilot who had crashed through the ice out on Hudson Bay. My name is Warrant Officer Aaron Bygrove, this is Master-Corporal Bruno Robitaille. Master-Corporal Bruno Robitaille: For myself, at nine years old I saw a program about search and rescue, and since that day I did everything I could to be a Search and Rescue Technician. We parachuted with medical and survival needs for him and myself. When we landed on the ground there were three patients. There were Inuit and the pilot, who was submerged in water. It was –36, plus the wind. I personally took care of the medical aspect for the patients and everything having to do with logistics and extraction. I warmed up the pilot, who was still submerged during that time. Aaron started to put up the tent. We brought the three patients inside. We were able to bring the three patients to a suitable temperature. And then later, about two hours from when we’d jumped, the 417 Squadron from Cold Lake came to extract us. We were busy the whole time. Trying all the time to do something to improve our quality of life because, yes, you know the helicopter will come, but you never know if it will really happen. But we have all that we need to spend the night, no matter what. It's a team effort. Warrant Officer Aaron Bygrove: We took some calculated risks, risks that needed to be taken to save lives. We worked our crew, as well as Search and Rescue as a whole. At Rideau Hall we were both honored with a Meritorious Service Medal. I feel, and we feel, honoured today to receive this. Not only for ourselves, but also for the Canadian Forces Air Force who is tasked with almost a thousand missions every year to help bring back people and save lives. Master-Corporal Bruno Robitaille: Anytime, anywhere, we’ll be
there. That’s what we do.

RCAF Sends 4 Griffons, CC-130, and C-17 to Fort McMurray

UPDATE: May 5, 2016

Four RCAF Griffon helicopters have been sent to Fort McMurray to provide support to the government of Alberta in the ongoing efforts to deal with wildfires there.

In addition, one CC-130J is heading to CFB Cold Lake to be on standby for additional support, and a C-17 Globemaster has been put on Red-Alert standby for strategic lift of assesstes form the region.

Members of Canada’s Armed Forces are mobilizing and poised to deliver supplies from bases in Edmonton and Cold Lake, and to help with evacuation and fire fighting efforts should the request come from the Alberta government.

“We are the force of last resort,” Brig.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, commander of Canadian Forces in Western Canada, said Wednesday morning. “We come in when all other resources are exhausted.”

No one was ruling that out. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon, before flying to Fort McMurray to assess the damage. “We all know this is the single biggest evacuation that we’ve seen from a fire, and the single biggest overall impact on a community in the history of the province,” she said.
Here are some photos from Combat Camera:

Members of 417 Combat Support Squadron prepare to depart for Fort McMurray as part of Operation LENTUS 2016 at 4 Hangar, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta on May 4, 2016.
Photo by: Cpl Manuela Berger, 4 Wing Imaging
CK01-2016-0428-006

Sajjan: Military SAR won’t be Privatized

In what appears to be one of the fastes turn-around's in defence policy - less than 24 hours after the Liberal Defence Review announced that it would consider privatizing Search and Rescue (SAR) in Canada - Defence Minister Sajjan told the House of Commons yesterday; that no - SAR will not be privatized; as the CAF plays too critical a role in SAR in Canada. 

Here is Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen |article: 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan “The Canadian Armed Forces play a critical role in search and rescue,” Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told the House of Commons on Tuesday.

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has headed off a potentially divisive debate by declaring the Liberal government will not privatize military search and rescue.

Sajjan made the comments Tuesday in response to an NDP question, after the Citizen revealed that the government’s defence review included questions about whether there were “alternatives” to having the military conduct search and rescue missions.

“The previous government might have been looking at privatizing search and rescue,” Sajjan told the House of Commons. “But I can assure the member that this government is not, because the Canadian Armed Forces play a critical role in search and rescue.”

Sajjan said last week everything was on the table as he launched consultations with the public, parliamentarians and defence experts on how the military should be structured for the future.

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The government released a 36-page document asking for feedback on what the military should — and should not — be doing. One section focuses on the military’s role in search and rescue, and asks if there are “models for alternative service delivery that could be explored.”

“Given the range of other actors engaged in this activity and the small proportion of rescues that require CAF assets,” the document reads, “a valid question is: what role should the CAF have in search and rescue?”

The Liberals have said their goal for the defence review is a “leaner, more agile” military that is better able to respond to the challenges facing Canada, but others fear the review is intended to identify ways the government can cut costs. The review is expected to culminate in a new defence policy in early 2017.

The previous Conservative government raised the idea of privatizing military search and rescue five years ago, before letting it die amid a public outcry. Liberal MP Judy Foote was among those who said she was “appalled” by the idea.

Foote, who hails from Newfoundland and Labrador, is now the minister of public services and procurement, which oversees military equipment purchases. Her department is managing a $3.1-billion project to replace the air force’s ancient search-and-rescue planes.

Liberals Are Consider Privatizing SAR in Canada

By: LEE BERTHIAUME, Ottawa Citizen 

An RCAF CH-149 Cormorant helicopter on exercising with a Canadian Coast Guard vessel.

The Liberal government is considering whether the military should continue to be involved in search-and-rescue missions, or rely instead on private companies and other alternatives to save Canadians in distress.

The idea has been raised as part of the government’s defence review, and is sure to stoke strong reactions both inside the military and across the country.

The previous Conservative government aired a similar proposal five years ago, before letting it quietly die.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said last week that everything was on the table as he launched consultations with the public, parliamentarians and defence experts on how the military should be structured for the future. Consultations will continue until the end of July, with a new defence policy to be released in early 2017.

As part of those consultations, the government released a 36-page document asking for feedback on what the military should — and should not — be doing. One section focuses specifically on the military’s role in search and rescue, and asks if there are “models for alternative service delivery that could be explored.”

The Canadian Armed Forces responds to more than 9,000 distress calls each year, the document says. But only about 1,000 actually require military search-and-rescue helicopters or airplanes. The rest involve co-ordinating other government departments, volunteers and private companies hired to help. The Conservatives raised the possibility of privatizing search-and-rescue operations in a meeting with representatives from various aerospace firms in 2011. The idea didn’t get far, however, after a public outcry.

HMCS Saskatoon near Esquimalt, British Columbia and An RCAF CH-149 Cormorant helicopter that is practicing personnel transfers.

Among those who spoke out against the proposal was Liberal MP Judy Foote, who wrote in a blog post at the time that she was “appalled by the government’s notice to companies that the government would be exploring the privatization of searchand-rescue operations.”

Foote, who hails from Newfoundland and Labrador, is now the minister of public services and procurement, which oversees military equipment purchases. Her department is currently managing a $3.1-billion project to replace the air force’s ancient search-and-rescue planes.

Paul Ives, mayor of Comox, B.C., which is home to the air force’s search-and-rescue school as well as one of its search-and-rescue squadrons, said he was surprised to learn that privatizing the service was being considered.

A Canadian Coast Guard communications centre is slated to close in the Vancouver Island community next month, and Ives said there would be an economic impact if search and rescue were privatized as well. But he was more skeptical that private companies could provide the same level of service as the military.

“Those guys who are rappelling down to rescue you are professionals to the nth degree and they’re a very proud part of the military,” he said.

An RCAF CC-146 Griffon helicopter waits to take off as CAF personnel from 424 (Transport and Rescue) Squadron conducted a search and rescue (SAR) during exercise TIGEREX

“I wouldn’t want to be out in the wilderness somewhere expecting somebody to come in on a rescue mission who’s working on a contract basis and worrying about, ‘Can we really do this? Will it cost us more than it’s worth?’ ”

York University professor Martin Shadwick, who has written extensively on military search and rescue, said the actual monetary savings of privatization or moving the service somewhere else such as the Coast Guard would likely be very small.

At the same time there would be a number of intangible costs, he said, such as damage to military morale and the Force’s links with average Canadians given that search and rescue is one of the military’s most highprofile activities.

“So there’s a whole lot of things that often don’t fit nicely on a balance sheet,” he said. “Getting rid of it completely, I don’t think it’s in the broader national interest.”

Last RCAF CC-130E Lands at Aviation Museum in Ottawa

.@avspacemuseum on #Periscope: Hercules arrival! https://t.co/1wZO5uh1Km

— CWH Museum (@CWHM) April 5, 2016

Check out the Tweet Above to watch the Last CC-130E land at the Aviation and Space Museum, in Ottawa.

Written by David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen 

The Department of National Defence has donated the last CC-130 Hercules E aircraft still in service to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. The aircraft made its last flight this morning, flying from 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Trenton Ontario to land at the museum in Ottawa this morning, according to the RCAF.

The Hercules will become part of the museum’s permanent exhibition.

In the case of transfer of the last CC-130 E Hercules Legacy in service to the museum, standard preservation procedures were applied: the fuel tanks were drained and engines disabled, the RCAF noted.

RCAF Crew with the CC-130E Hercules, ahead of its last flight (photo courtesy of RCAF)

Background from the RCAF on the C-130 E model:

Although designed in the early 1950s, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules remains one of the most successful military transport airplanes ever designed. Operated in every region of the globe, this flying truck has consistently shown itself to be extremely durable, reliable, and tough. The Royal Canadian Air Force received its first Hercules in the fall of 1960. Improved versions were ordered as time went by. A new batch was in fact delivered in 2010-12 and will remain in service for years to come. The Hercules offered to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum is the oldest Canadian example of the type. It entered service in 1965 and was used as a transport airplane, a navigation training airplane, and a search and rescue airplane.

The Hercules offered to the Museum (manufacturer number 382-4041) is the third CC-130E – and the seventh CC-130 – acquired by the Canadian military. Taken on strength on February 9, 1965, the airplane received the RCAF serial number 10307 (130307 from May 1970 onward). It flew with 435 Squadron, a unit based at RCAF Station Namao (Alberta).

After approximately ten years spent at Namao, the Hercules was converted into a navigation training airplane, with the designation CC-130N / NT or Nav-Herc, and used at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg by the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School. It was one of four Hercules so modified to train navigators who would fly aboard transport airplanes (Lockheed CC-130 Hercules) or maritime patrol airplanes (Canadair CP-107 Argus or, later, Lockheed CP-140 Aurora). The airplanes could be configured for either type of training by using removable pallet-mounted consoles made by Northwest Industries of Edmonton. Each of these consoles carried two student positions as well as an instructor position, further back. A Hercules could either carry two identical consoles, or one of each type.

With the introduction of a dedicated navigation training airplane in 1991, the Hercules offered to the Museum was transferred to 429 Squadron, a transport unit based at CFB Winnipeg. In 1993, it was converted into a search and rescue airplane, a version known informally as the CC-130E(SAR). The airplane went to 424 Squadron, a unit based at CFB Trenton (Ontario).

This Hercules is the last of the CC-130Es and the oldest Hercules still flying in Canada. There is a CC-130E Hercules (serial number 130314), very similar to the one offered to the Museum, at the National Air Force Museum of Canada, in Trenton

103 SAR Sqn Trains with Icelandic Coast Guard

Written by: JDM, Canadian Forces Dispatch author
Last Updated: February 10, 2016

A RCAF CH-149 Cormorant SAR Helicopter. (Undated DND Photo) 

As Arctic nations come together after the reaffirmation of the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement late last year, the RCAF's 103 Squadron has landed in Iceland to train with the Icelandic Coast Guard.

Unlike many other nations, Canada's areal search and rescue is not conducted by the Coast Guard, but by the RCAF; largely for budgetary reasons. The aerial Search and Rescue (SAR) is conducted by the RCAF using CH-149 Cormorant helicopters and Fixed-Wing CC-115 Buffalo aircraft.

103 Search and Rescue Squadron is located at 9 wing Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. Members from 103 Squadron are deployed to Iceland from the 9-12 of February 2016.

 
Training will involve multiple scenarios with the Canadian CH-149 Cormorant, the Icelandic Coast Guard vessel Thor, and the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue also known as ICE-SAR. 

Icelandic Coast Guard vessel Thor (Photo: Naval-Technology)

The RCAF released the following images after the exercise concluded. More images can be seen here

CH-149 Cormorant helicopter to perform a mountain rescue scenario during a 

Joint SAR Exercise held in Iceland on February 10, 2016. 

CH-149 Cormorant helicopter hoist Sergeant Sean Daniell with a member from the Iceland Association for Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR) and his dog Joey in Neskaupstadur, Iceland during a Joint SAR Exercise on February 9, 2016.