Rene Van Woezik/UTRECHT
The Austrian Air Force has begun night border surveillance missions with specially equipped Aerospatiale Alouette III and Bell OH-58B helicopters.
Codenamed Owl, the missions to step up border protection, which began in February, result from the demands of the Schengen agreement on frontier controls.
The four helicopters, operated on behalf of the Austrian Ministry of Internal Affairs, have new surveillance systems provided by the European Union, with operating costs paid by Austria.
The two OH-58s are based at Tulln-Langenlebarn, near Vienna, and the two Alouettes at a small field near Punits on the Hungarian border. All the Owl missions are flown by 1 Squadron of 2 Helicopter Wing.
The Alouettes are fitted with a 30-million candlepower NiteSun searchlight with a range of 2.5km, (1.55m) which can be used with an infrared filter.
A 360¹-scan forward looking infrared (FLIR) system is fitted, and the image can be integrated with a global positioning system receiver and moving map display.
Data from the map display can be recorded for use in ministry legal proceedings.
Other enhancements to the system include passive night goggles and compatible cockpit lighting. The helicopters could also be used for lighting up emergency sites at night.
Source: Flight International