CPL MITCHELL PAQUETTE
HMCS Robert Hampton Gray marks AOPV milestone with SWOAD certification
By Trident Staff
CPL MITCHELL PAQUETTE
His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Robert Hampton Gray has become the first Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) certified to conduct flight operations as a Ship Without Air Detachment (SWOAD), embarking a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter for Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK.
The ship left Halifax in August with a Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) Bell 429 Global Ranger light helicopter aboard, alongside the Royal Danish Navy’s HDMS Thetis and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship George R. Pearkes. This also marks the first time a CCG helicopter has deployed from a Royal Canadian Navy ship.
The SWOAD status allows a crew to run helicopter operations, including recovering, refueling and launching an aircraft, without a dedicated air detachment embarked, using sailors from other trades trained to fill those roles. It’s a qualification often held by Halifax-class frigates, but Robert Hampton Gray is the first Harry DeWolf-class ship to reach it and embark a helicopter for operations.
Getting there took extensive training across multiple ship departments. On August 17, the crew ran its final assessed crash-on-deck drill, simulating a complicated helicopter crash on the flight deck. The exercise required the Helo Crash Rescue Firefighting Team, Flight Deck Team and Casualty Clearing Team to fight the simulated fire, extract and treat casualties, secure the aircraft and work through initial flight safety reporting, all while coordinating with the embarked CCG aircrew.
The workup also included flying stations, helicopter refueling, and vertical replenishment operations. The latter is a technique the Canadian Armed Forces doesn’t typically use, but that may be an option in the Arctic or other areas where jetty infrastructure is minimal.
Since leaving Halifax, HMCS Robert Hampton Gray has put the new capability to use almost immediately. The SWOAD team first supported an Allied Personnel Swap exercise, coordinating as the embarked Bell 429 took on passengers for transfer between ships. Days later, the ship’s Medical Officer climbed aboard the Bell 429 to respond to a medical emergency aboard CCGS George R. Pearkes, flying over to render assistance. Both are demonstrations of the kind of flexibility the SWOAD certification and embarked helicopter are meant to provide.
Robert Hampton Gray‘s crew credited the milestone to a team effort spanning the Helo Crash Rescue Firefighting Team, Flight Deck Team, Casualty Clearing Team and what they called “Team DND” — CCG and RCN personnel working together.
