Swedish Armed Forces
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The two AW109s arrived in Djibouti two days ago and engineers have been working to prepare the aircraft for flight including bolting on rotor-blades.
Flying for Operation Atalanta begins on 15 April, the helicopters will be operating in and around the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea as well as off the coast of Somalia and out towards the Seychelles islands. Helicopters will also be able to transport personnel between ship and deal with medical emergencies.
The aircraft will operate from the Swedish warship HMS Carlskrona.
The first flight of the Swedish helicopter in Djibouti was a key moment for the unit.
The flight meant an early start for the crew. At 0600 they were on the French base for the briefing, where a French officer told the crew about the conditions of the day. The weather was good as usual, but he warned of winds at a place called the Devil's rock.
An enhanced checklist which, among other things was water, maps, emergency and desert road map look was reviewed one last time.
After a few checks and a little hover it was time to taxi out.
Approximately one hour later the aircraft came back. Happy and satisfied, the crew climbed out of the machine. A flight that may be placed in the Helikopter Wing historical album was finished. Now the crew face a period of intensive training in this climate, of heat, salt and sand.
Source: Swedish Armed Forces