The Garda Air Support Unit

The Garda Air Support Unit was established in September 1997 with the delivery of a Pilatus Britten-Norman BN 2T-4S Defender 4000 fixed wing aircraft and a Eurocopter AS355N Eceuriel helicopter.

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The unit is based at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel on the outskirts of Dublin city although from time to time aircraft may be based at other locations within the State.

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Garda aircraft may be deployed to incidents in the following cases:

Immediate threat to life
Incidents of a criminal, terrorist or other nationally important nature
Immediate threat of serious public disorder
Tasks leading to the prevention or detection of crime
Evidence gathering
Intelligence gathering
Photographic tasks
Traffic Management/Monitoring

In 2001, the Garda Aircraft fleet got a second helicopter, a Eurocopter EC 135 T2. During 2007 the Eceuriel helicopter was replaced by a second EC135 T2+. Both EC135 helicopters are fitted with Turbomeca (T2) engines. These rotary wing aircraft are classified as light utility helicopters.

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Garda aircraft are maintained on the Irish military register. Irish Air Corps personnel pilot all aircraft and provide maintenance facilities on behalf of the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

All aircraft in service with the unit are selected to meet stringent operational policing requirements. The aircraft are fitted with the latest police role equipment including state-of-the-art daylight and thermal image cameras mounted on gyro stabilised platforms, search lights, extensive communication suites and microwave downlink/uplink technology.