849 Naval Air Squadron are the ‘Eyes
of the Fleet’ through their role as Airborne Surveillance and Control or
Airborne Surveillance and Control. It operates the Sea King Mk 7 Airborne
Surveillance and Control both at its home of RNAS Culdrose in South West
Cornwall and abroad wherever they may be required. A single pilot flies the
aircraft with two observers operating the radar and surveillance systems in
the back of the helicopter. One of the observers occupies the spare front seat
for take off and landing and to assist the pilot during any aircraft
malfunction.
The Sea King Mk 7 is equipped with the
Searchwater 2000 radar, a state of the art long-range
radar, which is
capable of remarkably accurate detections of both surface and air targets. The
roles that the Squadron can conduct are constantly evolving as the potential
of the new radar system is realised. Also fitted is Orange Crop Electronic
Support Measures equipment. This is capable of passively detecting enemy ship
and aircraft radar emissions.
The core squadron tasks are:
Surveillance for the Fleet. The
Searchwater 2000 radar in this airborne platform greatly enhances the
detection ranges of inbound air raids, allowing surface units more time to
react and combat the attack. Once enemy aircraftare detected the two
Observers operating the mission system can direct friendly fighters to
intercept the attack or report the target for a ship-fired missile
engagement. Additionally, using its radar, the Sea King Airborne Surveillance
and Control Mk 7 can also be employed to achieve long-range detection of
hostile ships and Fast Attack Craft. Friendly aircraft or surface-to-surface
missiles can then be guided on to the target using over-the-horizon targeting
techniques.
The
Squadron has three flights, Headquarters (HQ) Flight, A Flight and B Flight.
849 Headquarters, based at RNAS Culdrose, provides support to the front line
flights and is a training facility for AEW Observer aircrew. It operates three
aircraft to achieve this. Continuation training has recently involved 849 HQ
detaching to Norway and the Netherlands to participate in NATO exercises.
849 A and B Flights embark as required in the aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal
and Invincible respectively, each operating three AEW Mark 7 Sea Kings. During
the 90’s both flights were involved in numerous supporting missions around the
globe. Including Operation Sharp Guard in the Adriatic, blockading the coast
of Montenegro and also Operation Southern Watch in support of UN Resolutions
against Iraq in the Persian Gulf. In 2000, B Flight took part in
Operation Palliser (Sierra Leone) and also in the largest ever, amphibious
exercise to take place in the Middle East, Exercise Saif Sareea In January
2003 A’ Flight
embarked on HMS Ark Royal for the first Far East
deployment since ‘Ocean Wave’ in ’97.
