Eurocopter recently delivered its 10th AS350 B3 Ecureuil (Astar) helicopter to Angola’s National Police Force’s Helicopter Unit, concluding the 2009 contract to supply a fleet of 10 AS350 B3s.
“The AS350 B3 provides a very efficient law enforcement solution in our daily operations,” says a representative of the Angola National Police Force. The Eurocopter AS350 B3 was chosen based on their operational capability to operate in hot, high, rugged and dusty conditions.
Range and payload was a primary consideration as the Unit required helicopters capable of patrolling both the dense built up area around the capital city, Luanda, but also to cover smaller towns and communities spread over large areas.
The AS350 B3, which is powered by a Turbomeca 2B1 engine, also meets the requirement to operate in carrying climates, at sea level and, without compromising its mission capability, and on the inland plateau, where elevation reaches as high as 6,000ft above sea level.
The AS350 B3s join the Unit’s all-Eurocopter fleet, which includes 6 Dauphin AS365 N2s (with emergency medical service capabilities) and 15 AS350 B2/B3s used primarily for surveillance missions. The Police Force’s Helicopter Unit was created in 1992, initially to provide additional security during the country’s first multi-party elections and has played an integral role in law enforcement in the country.
The AS350 B3 has become the prime helicopter for airborne police units in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) bloc where they are also in operation in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.