Coast Guard on patrol
European MPAs Part 5
Fleet Survey
Sweden
The Kustbevakningen (KBV, Swedish Coast Guard) operates three Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. Serials KBV 501, 502 and 503 delivered in 2008 are based at Stockholm Skavsta Airport, near Nyköping.
The KBV’s Flight Division provides a high level of preparedness for environmental and search and rescue (SAR) operations at sea, with surveillance being conducted along the Swedish coast and over the giant lakes of Vänern and Mälaren, around the clock, every day of the year.
Modified by Canada’s Field Aviation in collaboration with L-3 Communications, the aircraft are outfitted with three identical operator stations. Two observation stations are provided with large windows for visual surveillance, while the third can be used by observers, rescue leaders and/ or co-ordinators or for training. The normal crew numbers four, but cabin seating is available for up to seven passengers.
Mission equipment on the Q300s includes an Elta EL/M 2022A surveillance radar that locates and plots shipping sectors at up to 200nm depending on altitude. Selected radar targets are presented automatically as a tactical plot as part of the …
