A Royal Air Force Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft recently demonstrated its capability to deploy search and rescue equipment designed to support up to 100 individuals in maritime distress.
The trials, which were conducted off the southwest coast, involved the successful release of a UNIPAC-III Search and Rescue kit from the aircraft’s weapons bay into the sea.
Upon impact with the water, the semi-rigid aerial delivery container activated, providing a fully inflated life raft and necessary survival equipment for individuals in need.
According to the RAF here, the survival aid kit includes food, water, and communications to support up to 20 persons for 72 hours. Up to five systems can be carried by Poseidon and delivered in a single air drop if required, supporting up to 100 survivors.
The trial involved a Poseidon aircraft that departed from RAF Lossiemouth, where engineers had meticulously loaded the search and rescue equipment on board. The flight was conducted by skilled personnel from 206 and CXX Squadrons.
This trial effectively demonstrated the UK Poseidon’s capability to organically deploy search and rescue equipment from the aircraft. Upon completion of additional required activities, this capability will be added to the platform’s overall suite and declared available for use by all squadron crews. The anticipated timeline for this is April 23.
According to a news release:
“The nine-strong fleet of RAF Poseidon aircraft has already conducted search and rescue missions, but the new equipment enhances the ability to support long range search and rescue and provide support to Royal Navy vessels including submarines. Importantly it will allow Poseidon to conduct the drop of search and rescue dinghies itself, rather than operate in tandem with others to do so.”
RAF Poseidon Life Raft Sea Drills
Impressive.
I think there is some international obligation to have this capability. Believe its been a Herc tasking since Nimrod. No doubt someone can clarify.
Yes indeed it’s all managed via the SAR framework. But basically we have two international SAR responsibilities aeronautical SAR and maritime SAR ( land SAR is not governed by international law). The key bits of international law are: Convention of safety at sea 1974, convention of the high seas 1958, convention of the law of the sea 1988. There is also a convention on civil aviation 1944. from these agreements our SAR area ( both airo and maritime stretches for around 2 million square miles into the mid Atlantic ( we have a very large SAR area) costal and green… Read more »
Thank you.
Is the ARCC at Kinloss still operational?
Hi Daniele, it long gone ( 2016 ) by 2017, which was the last big update of the SAR framework, the ARCC was based in the national Maritime operations centre in Fareham ( NMOC) which is the central hub for all UK maritime and airo nautical SAR, it’s run by the coastguard. They have access to all the coastguard rescue teams, coastguard aircraft, RNLI resources, independent lifeboats and lifeguard services as well as SAR helicopter service…which they can divert across the county as needed. They would also sort out the MACA requests to use the RAF fixed wing assets like… Read more »
So the usual bureaucratic nonsense slowing everything.
Thanks J, my info way out of date.
In certain circumstances (risk of loss of life/limb), establishment commanders can authorise assistance without recieving a MACA request. From JDP 02: Authorisation The default setting is that a Defence minister must authorise all requests for Defence assistance. Exceptions to this policy includes ‘immediate assistance’ (life at risk, a need to alleviate distress or to protect signifificant property). In this instance, local military commanders can authorise deployments and requests relating to Defence estate. Depending upon whether the civil authorities’ intended use is considered contentious or not, the request will be authorised either by a senior military offificer locally or by a… Read more »
Not that I have ever seen, the one time that I know a NHS organisation asked for desperate help outside of the MACA process…all that happened was the organisation got reported to the MOD who reported them the DOH and all hell landed on the director who had dared to ask….I can categorically tell you as someone who runs and manages cat one incident rooms under the civil contingencies act there is no rout other than MACA for me to request aid. Now there may be something in MOD and military SOPs that let them voluntarily help if they see… Read more »
James dig down into page 4 section 1.4 and you can see that the quote from the front page is rendered meaningless…basically this is the Military view..it’s not unfortunately the view of other agencies…when the MOD come back to the DOH and say someone in NHS has asked for a MACA without going through the chain of command the shit hits the fan. Not so jointed up I know but unfortunately central government generally never manages to get all the doted line right. The issue is basically the MOD charge the DOH for its services time and the DOH will… Read more »
A400M certainly undertakes this role in the Falklands and South Georgia. I was chatting to one of the pilots about it the other day. If Atlas can do it down south then presumably it could do it at home too.
Why you would use a giant 4 engine aircraft for this?
Because we only have A400, Voyager and Typhoon based at Mount Pleasant and the latter definitely can’t deploy maritime rescue kit? As for the Atlantic, dropping rescue kit in the middle of an enormous ocean doesn’t seem that crazy a task for a 4 engined aircraft to me. Not that Poseidon isn’t suitable as well of course.
Looks like they can be attached to any of the 5 internal weapons hard points.
With the 6 external ones it can carry a decent weapons payload. 🤔
Pity we don’t have any cruise or anti ship missiles for those hard points or any mines.
Maybe we can bomb the PLAN with rafts 😀
Good thing too that they don’t have anti-ship missiles as we wouldn’t have any Poseidons for long if we had them attacking surface ships!! I’d rather have they pass on co-ordinates to dedicated combat aircraft to attack surface ships.
Submarines on the other hand don’t generally have anti-aircraft systems but are vulnerable to the torpedoes they carry.
Gone are the days the RAF had such dedicated aircraft and Nimrod did have the kit to do so. The NSM the RN are getting would be a worthwhile weapon to have on the P8 and Norway operate the same aircraft so a win win to have a stock of them awaiting a target.
Typhoon will be able to operate both JSM and Martre ER
02/12/2022
MBDA’s Marte ER missile is under delivery and looking for new customers
The aircraft version of the NSM is part of the advanced armament of F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and NH90 multipurpose fighters.
Typhoon will be able to operate both JSM and Martre ER
02/12/2022
MBDA’s Marte ER missile is under delivery and looking for new customers
“The aircraft version of the NSM is part of the advanced armament of F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and NH90 multipurpose fighters.”
Why would you waste money on dedicated aircraft when the RAF have both the Typhoons and F35. They’re going to integrate FC/ASW onto one or other or both. We only have 9 P8s, essentially Boeing 737s, so endangering one – along with its large crew – by sending it to attack a ship with an air-defence system is an unreasonable risk to men and resources. Let them locate and identify ships and hand-off the actual attack to combat aircraft and drones. The RN is getting NSM, not the RAF. As far as I’m aware the NSM currently has no air-launch… Read more »
Problem is it’s the only air system we operate that currently has anti ship missile capability and a P8 carrying 4 LRASM would likely be the only kind of direct action in a defence of Taiwan operation we could participate in assuming all air bases in range for typhoon would be out of action instantly and it would be too dangerous for our carriers to sail past Singapore. Our submarines would be the only other thing we could send in there. US war gaming was pretty clear that the ability to fire large numbers of long range anti ship missiles… Read more »
That’s on the assumption that the US gets involved with defending Taiwan. I suspect that is pretty unlikely, as the risk to US lives would be significant and so it would not be a popular move domestically. Pretty much in the same way no one got involved in defending Ukraine.
Using our P8s like that would be asking for them to be shot down, along with their large crews. Typhoons could do the same job, if necessary by using air refuelling tankers.
In addition to US forces, the Australian and South Korea would be able to provide plenty of P8s for service. What we have to contribute, which they don’t, is SSNs. I would expect to see Astute’s not aircraft spearheading the U.K. contribution.
Our carriers wouldn’t need to sail past Singapore to get to the Western Pacific.
This might be the answer as well as Tomahawk.
MBDA
MdCN- NCM (Naval Cruise Missile) to meet the requirement issued by the French Ministry of Defence for a long-range cruise missile capable of being launched from surface vessels and submarines.
The defence of Taiwan is not the responsibility of the UK. I trust the government of the day will stay well clear of such involvement. The military of the UK has more than it can cope with as things stand.
Indeed we really really need a fixed wing fast jet ASM. Personal I think it would have been better to have focused getting NSM on our fast jets before our escorts…but it should not have been a one or other question instead a capability for both. I suspect is the RN stumping for NSM and the RAF having other priorities.
Both the RAF and RN will get FC/ASW. The RN has changed its mind and has decided it needs a interim off the shelf solution, ie NSM, until FC/ASW arrives.
It appears the RAF are happy to wait, though they might to decide to get the JSM, when it becomes available, if the FC/ASW is still some way off…
As you know, I’ve been calling for this, even before the escorts, for years. It is the fast jet that attacks an enemy vessel before the vessel itself.
NSM for Land Attack fine on an escort.
LRASM is being integrated by the yanks so would enable launch from a safe range at least against SAMs
Thought it’s interesting the Aussies only currently plan on using LRASM on their Super Hornets and not on their P8…
Oh the days when “dinghy dinghy dinghy” blurred out of the station tannoy.
Does anyone know the history as to why some squadrons are listed under “Arabic” numerals and some under “Roman” ?
I am sure there is some obscure history behind it, so would be intrigued as to what the reason was.
I open the floor to comments
Won’t be long now before the P8 can finally undertake the full Nimrod taskings 🙃
Would that be the “9 years late and £800m over-budget” tasking? 🤔
No, the ones undertaken by the MR1 and MR2 variants for 40 years.
Ah… you meant “obsolete and inadequate taskings” 👍🏻
If you call submarine hunting, intelligence gathering, anti-ship strike capability, dropping life saving equipment to stranded sailors “obsolete and inadequate” then yes. I don’t.
No I call the MR1 and MR2 obsolete and inadequate. Thankfully the P8 is better at all these.
Indeed!
Nimrod did this decades ago. And could shut down 2 engines if need be.
I’m surprised the MoD release does not describe it as “world leading” or agile.
😃
Rescue from the Skies – Langham DomeLangham Dome
we used to drop wooden lifeboats complete with motor and supplies to downed WW2 aircrew.
A little light reading regards the Uks Poseidon fleetfrom last September. (As usual it will self delete in 7 days)https://i.postimg.cc/N0Kp0wRW/img323.jpg
P2:
https://i.postimg.cc/kgBxQvDS/img325.jpg
P3:
https://i.postimg.cc/Wp5F5qBw/img326.jpg
P4:
https://i.postimg.cc/yxxNMnMX/img331.jpg
PT5:
https://i.postimg.cc/ryD0Ywq6/img333.jpg
Thank you for the 5 pages!😀
What I want to see for UK P8’s is the ability to drop Stingray at altitude. Far better than Mk54.
Prepare for an infinite wait.
P8 = Mk 54
Apache = JAGM
Why?
Because if you buy american systems the integration is so long and costly you end up buying the inferior US system instead because its easier and in the short term cheaper.
Amazing that we can integrate liferafts but not British weapons systems onto this fabulous plane
That is great, Now just provide more aircraft. You should have built about 16 Nimrods.
I see that Japan is pplanning to cut it’s intended Kawasaki P1 fleet replacing some with UAVs. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defending-the-pacific/2023/02/09/japan-to-replace-attack-observation-helos-with-drone-fleet/ (scroll to near end)
Do the liferafts still inflate inverted? on the two occasions I dropped three linked MS10s from a Herc, two out of the three inflated inverted. I never moaned about having to right a liferaft during annual drills after that.