New Cyclone helicopter takes to skies before first international deployment
HALIFAX — Two CH-148 Cyclones soared over Halifax harbour on Friday, marking a critical step in the oft-delayed rollout of the Canadian military’s fleet of new maritime helicopters.
The state-of-the-art helicopters buzzed past the city’s waterfront and hugged the Nova Scotia coastline in an aerial display staged by the Royal Canadian Air Force, days before one of the aircraft is scheduled to head out on its first international deployment — and about 10 years after the first Sikorsky machine was to be delivered to the military.
Col. Sid Connor, commander of 12 Wing Shearwater in Halifax, said the beefy, flat-grey choppers offer a starkly different flying experience than their geriatric predecessor, the CH-124 Sea Kings, due largely to their suite of sophisticated computerized systems.
The main difference, he said, is that Cyclone crews will be using advanced fly-by-wire technology, which means computers and other electronic gear will help with the flying, rather that relying on manual flight controls.
“It’s pretty exciting for all of us,” he said in a sprawling hangar, as crew milled around seven of the powerful aircraft. “We know that this is a first step in another chapter of the legacy of maritime helicopter operations, and working with the navy wherever Canada chooses to send us.”
Connor, an air combat systems officer, said the Cyclones’ communications and sensor systems will extend the reach of navy vessels, for which they serve as their “eyes and ears.”
“We’re able to give the ship’s captain a view over the horizon, either above the water or under the water, at much greater ranges than we could have in the past,” he said.
Those skills will be put to the test when one of the 13 Cyclones now at Shearwater deploys with the frigate HMCS Ville de Québec on Wednesday for a six-month mission, with a 19-member air detachment crew from the 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron.
The vessel is slated to relieve HMCS St. John’s in Operation Reassurance, an ongoing multinational NATO mission in the Mediterranean. Another Cyclone is due to join the mission in January to replace the one leaving Wednesday.
The air force showcased two of the CH-148s before the deployment, breezing up the harbour and tilting in tight, low turns in its busy basin. Technicians also showed off the helicopter’s hoisting capabilities, lowering a crew member to the ground as the Cyclone held a steady position overhead in buffeting winds.
The Cyclone fleet will be tasked with surface and subsurface surveillance, and search and rescue missions, while providing “tactical transport for national and international security efforts,” according to the military. Its airframe is built with lightning-strike and high-intensity radio frequency pulse protection.
The Sea Kings operating on the West Coast at Patricia Bay in North Saanich will remain until the end of this year.