Page 103 - North Atlantic and Nordic Defense

North European and North Atlantic Defense: The Challenges Return

The introduction of the CH-148 Cyclone is not simply a replacement for the Sea King but rather the inclusion
of a new platform within the new maritime domain awareness strike context.

The shaping of a maritime domain awareness and strike enterprise in the North Atlantic to deal with the
introduction of a Russian, not a Soviet, submarine threat into the North Atlantic.

New capabilities, among them P-8s and Tritons, are being introduced by Canada’s allies, the US, Norway
and the UK, which are part of a broader reshaping of the information and decision making web necessary to
deal with 21st century threats.

The helicopter was crafted as a replacement for the Sea King, which could incorporate Romeo type
technology into a larger aircraft, which could also do Search and Rescue. And the helicopter had to be
designed to land on Canadian sized frigates in high sea states.
The high sea state environment was a calibration made from calculations of deck accelerations.

The helicopter also had to fit within the Canadian concepts of operations, whereby the crew could multi-task
while in flight, without a need to return to the ship to reconfigure for changing missions.

The new helicopter is built on a commercial S-90 foundation but the defense customizations fit where 21st
century technology was going, namely an information, communications and decision making transformation.
And the work flow onboard the helicopter very much fits into what the Block 3 upgrade to Aurora provides
along with the P-8 — the front end and back end of the aircraft shape a workflow for the entire flight and
work crew. Screens in the cockpit of both the Cyclone and the Aurora bring the data in the back forward to
the cockpit.

Figure 33 Bill Brown (right), Senior OMS Officer of 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron (LRP&T
Sqn) gives a briefing to Lieutenant-Colonel Ray Townsend, Commanding Officer 404 LRP&T Sqn, Dr. Robbin
Laird, Murielle Delaporte, Lieutenant-Colonel Brono Baker, Acting Commanding Officer 14 Wing Greenwood
and Ralph Hippman, Simulator Operator, in the Throney Island Simulation Centre at 14 Wing Greenwood,
Nova Scotia, Canada.Photo: MCpl Rory Wilson, 14 Wing Imaging

A work in progress is to determine exactly who does what, but SA for Search and Rescue is now available to
the front end of the aircraft which obviously allows for better decision-making and outcomes.

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