CASR

———
A Modest
Proposal
———

Arctic Search & Rescue  –  SAR Treaty  –  Canadian Sovereignty  –  June 2011 Griffons and Arctic SAR FOLs — Step 1 in an Incremental Approach to Satisfying  Canada's Arctic Search-and-Rescue  Responsibilities A Modest Proposal  by  Stephen Daly, CD Ed:  Having signed the new Arctic Council SAR Treaty , Canada's Arctic search-and-rescue responsibilities move from the largely hypothetical  to the legally binding. Press speculation has already begun as to whether this treaty-signing  is the Harper Conservative's method of rationalizing the priority assigned to the expensive Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Project in a time of economic constraint. We shall see.  Meanwhile, rotary-wing SAR goes unnoticed. The Canadian Forces helicopters dedicated to SAR are the troubled fleet of  CH-149 Cormorants. These helicopters are sent to perform Arctic SAR but all 14 Cormorants are based in the south. That problem is common to all  CF aircraft [1]  but utility helicopters are routinely deployed to the Arctic on the seasonal re-supply  missions.  Stephen Daly  proposes expanding such deployments to include  SAR. For this ModProp, the goal is the imaginative use of existing military resources as opposed to a procurement approach. The failure to provide adequate aerial  SAR response time in the Canadian Arctic is due to southern basing. DND's FWSAR 'solution' relies on faster aircraft. Even if that reasoning were sound, it cannot be applied to slow-flying helicopters. The only possible military SAR solution is forward basing which is precisely what Mr. Daly suggests. In all things, the perfect is the enemy of  the good. As the title suggests, the concept behind this ModProp is just a first step in an incremental process.  It is also only one component in a complex system of  SAR response – most of which is performed by civilians (volunteers in many cases).  In most Arctic SAR scenarios,  local civilians will be the 'first responders' with military helicopters providing the actual rescue/recovery in difficult terrain. This partnership must be kept in mind when discussing the military's role  (and forward-basing)  in the Arctic. In this 'first-step' ModProp, the forward-based Arctic SAR missions would be performed  in utility helicopters by crews used to tactical operations. In other words, these are not trained SAR Technicians. Nor is forward-basing a panacea – flying distances in the North are often staggering (often 'neighbouring' airfields will be outside the range of a mid-sized helicopter). To be truly effective in this Arctic SAR role, it will be necessary to include remote refuelling points in future and increasing the total number of operating locations. But that's for Step 2. Incremental Approach to Satisfying Canada's Arctic Search-and-Rescue Responsibilities A major concern when facing any search-and-rescue response  in the Canadian Arctic  is the basing of  all major military aerial  SAR assets in southern Canada. Four small and slow CC-138 Twin Otters are based at Yellowknife. But our major SAR aircraft transit  north to the Arctic resulting in much longer response times. For Canadian Forces Fixed-Wing Search-and-Rescue ( FWSAR ) aircraft,  delays can stretch several hours past what would  be considered 'normal' in the south. By comparison, the situation for CF rotary-wing assets is bleak.  Self-deploying helicopters over very long range is a bad match with their performance – by their nature, helicopters are relatively short-ranged machines flying at much lower speeds than most of  their  fixed-wing counterparts. In routine deployments to the Canadian Arctic, CF helicopters can be partially disassembled and  loaded into a military transport aircraft.  After the long transit North, this airframe is unloaded, reassembled, and then the helicopter can finally begin local operations. But,  by its very definition,  an emergency aerial  SAR response is not a routine deployment. SAR FOL: First Increment in Filling Arctic SAR Requirements with Military Helicopters Fortunately,  there is a third deployment path. The Air Force maintains  Forward Operating Locations at Arctic airports for use by fighter aircraft and seasonal supply flights. It would be comparatively simple to set up similar  FOLs  for search-and-rescue helicopters. All that would be required is providing air and ground crew accommodation (if such do not already exist at the civilian airfield) and the prepositioning of some CF Ground Support Equipment. Two initial  SAR FOL locations suggest themselves, one an existing FOL,  the other a CF base under construction. These are: Inuvik in the western Arctic and  Nanisivik on Baffin Island. [2]  Each SAR FOL location would host 2-3 aircraft allowing for one on-call SAR helicopter, a second on standby (in case of  mechanical problems), and a third machine available for local familiarization flights as well as sovereignty assertion operations. In the short-term, Inuvik and Nanisivik offer immediate utility for SAR FOLs but there's room for expansion. With the challenging  flying distances involved in the Canadian Arctic,  there is also a need.  In the west, Tuktoyuktuk's coastal  location  would save 100nm+ of range for over-water flights. Further north, Resolute Bay will be the new home of a  CF Arctic Training Facility which will need helicopters – making Resolute a natural location future SAR FOL.[3] SAR FOLs would not be year-round operations. Initially, the operations would be limited to the period of greatest potential need  – specifically, the navigable season. In the off-season, the SAR FOL would function as an anchor-point, a place where a known, albeit rudimentary, support  base exists. Properly stocked, the SAR FOL positions valuable supplies thousands of kilometers closer to the area of military Arctic aerial SAR operations than southern bases. Selecting suitable military helicopters to deploy North requires some creative thinking. The dedicated Canadian Search and Rescue Helicopters, the CH-149 Cormorant fleet, cannot be spared in sufficient numbers to make such a proposition worthwhile. So where does the Air Force find a helicopter type suited to those SAR FOLs within its existing rotary-wing fleets? Arctic Griffons – Enter Mythical Beasts Responsible for Guarding Priceless Possessions The solution can be found in the CF's Tactical Helicopter Squadrons (THS). TacHel CH-146 Griffons are mid-sized utility helicopters. TacHel Griffons may not be ideal, but these aircraft are available in sufficient numbers to accommodate modest, seasonal deployments up to the Arctic. Employing TacHel present other advantages as well. THS are practiced at operating in austere conditions, are more self-contained units  (which limits required logistics support and impact on local communities), are better trained at the required long-range deployments, and  routinely utilizing forward refueling points to extend their squadron's operational reach. Deploying TacHel Griffons to SAR Forward Operating Locations may not represent an ideal solution to Canada's Arctic search-and-rescue commitments, but it is doable. This proposed interim solution has focused on providing technical assets. A remaining question is suitable personnel. Existing members of  Tactical Helicopter Squadrons are  not  SAR specialists. So, do we need to add SAR Techs or medical staff to deployed TacHel detachments to increase their Rescue capability?  Not an easy question to answer, but less daunting than the current practice of an emergency deployment to the Arctic of  desperately-needed  SAR helicopters. Establishing Arctic Search-and-Rescue Forward Operating Locations for the Griffon THS is but a first step. And,  from a military aviation perspective,  using TacHel units in a SAR role in the far North is unconventional. However, many of the required skills for deployed Arctic SAR operations are the same as those routinely practiced by TacHel squadrons. Along with saving lives and meeting Canada's Arctic search and rescue treaty commitments, the TacHel SAR deployments to the Arctic would serve to exercise these essential skills while bringing military helicopters – and their personnel – to an area where they can serve a vital function. It is just a matter of  finding the will. [1] The exception are four small and slow CC-138 Twin Otters of  440 (T) Sqn at Yellowknife. [2] Siting an SAR FOL at Inuvik, NT has the advantage of sharing facilities with the existing fighter FOL. Nanisivik, NU will soon be the site of a naval facility on the Northwest Passage. [3] The Resolute Bay Arctic Training Facility also makes a natural home for a detachment of Tactical Helicopters. Needed to support Army training,  'Army'  helicopters can also provide an SAR capability. In the west, establishing a FOL at Tuktoyuktuk may seem redundant but a separate SAR FOL would reduce the likelihood of over-taxing  the limited  Inuvik  facilities.