Maritime Surveillance Aircraft Goes To The Icelandic Coast Guard

In a formal ceremony held at its Toronto Pearson airport facilities Monday, Field Aviation delivered a highly modified Dash 8 Q300 Maritime Surveillance aircraft to the Icelandic Coast Guard.  The event, which attracted more than 150 invited guests, included Iceland's Ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Ms. Sigridur Anna Thordardottir and Georg Larusson, director general of the Icelandic Coast Guard.

Field Aviation, the prime contractor and integrator on the Icelandic Coast Guard project valued at more than $30 million, partnered with Bombardier Aerospace, which supplied the basic Dash 8 Q300 aircraft, and L-3 Communications, which supplied the sensor systems.

The Icelandic Dash 8 Q300 is equipped with long range fuel and an auxiliary power unit, enabling it to perform missions of over 8 hours endurance. Field Aviation outfitted the aircraft with Maritime Search Radar, Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) and an Electro-Optical /Infra-Red pod (FLIR).  All sensors feed into an integrated data handling system supplied by L-3 Communications. 

Field integrated the surveillance systems into the aircraft and designed, built and installed a new cabin interior.  Field also designed and had approved an in-flight operable door, which allows crews to deploy location flares, paradrop personnel, oil sampling buoys and larger items such as inflatable rafts.

The Icelandic Dash 8 Q300 MSA has multi-mission capability, including search and rescue, maritime sovereignty, medevac and first response activities.  Its current configuration will produce shorter transit times and more on-station capability in replacing the Icelandic Coast Guard's current maritime aircraft.  This will allow the Coast Guard to increase both environmental and fisheries surveillance, as well as to perform customs duties and border protection. The large cabin interior, coupled with the Q300's proprietary active noise and vibration system will provide a comfortable, state-of-the-art working environment for the crews on board.

The Icelandic Coast Guard MSA has a configuration based on the Field Aviation modified Dash 8 Q300 MSA's for the Swedish Coast Guard, which were delivered in 2008.  The similarity of type and equipment will provide operational, maintenance, training and support synergies for both countries.

"Growing airborne surveillance requirements to protect our fisheries interests and to fight environmental pollution with a more suitable aircraft platform for the coming decades have made this replacement a necessity" said director general Larusson. "We are very impressed by the work that Field Aviation did for the Swedish Coast Guard MSAs, and this gave us confidence in trusting them to supply us with an MSA that would exceed our mission requirements".

FMI: http://www.lhg.is/english