EUNAVFOR

EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

EU NAVFOR Luxemburg aircraft reaches 2,500 flight hours milestone

June 20, 2011 - 14:30
Luxemburg Martime Patrol Aircraft
 The Luxemburg Government has funded CAE AVIATON to fly two Fairchild SW 3A Merlin aircraft from Mahe in the Seychelles in support of the EU Naval Force. Since the first flight on 29 Sep 09, 440 sorties have been flown for a total of 2,500 hours in support of Operation ATALANTA counter-piracy operations.

The main tasks of the aircraft are to perform Surface Search and Scan to locate designated or suspected pirate vessels, mother ships and skiffs and to help build the Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP). The Fairchild aircraft, equipped with a comprehensive suite of sensors and inherent flexibility and speed has also been used to assist vessels under pirate attack in coordination with other assets, such as EU NAVFOR helicopters and warships.

EUNAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATALANTA’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Additionally, EUNAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy and monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.



join our newsletter