5,000 hours and a new commanding officer

16th February 2010 - 11:10 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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Canada’s CU-170 Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recently achieved a milestone of 5,000 hours of operational flying time.

On Jan. 7, 2010, after little more than a year of operations in the Afghanistan theatre, the Canadian Heron UAV Detachment (CHUD) marked 5,000 hours – and more than 335 missions – flown in support of Joint Task Force Afghanistan and other agencies in their area of responsibility.

The CHUD, part of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing, provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), including counter-IED, force overwatch, and intelligence collection services.

On Jan 8, the commanding officer of Roto 8 of the CHUD, Major Ghislain Rancourt, passed command to Maj Jeff Davis, Roto 9 commanding officer. Both are from 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S.

The change of command ceremony, presided over by Air Wing commander Col Christian Drouin, took place on the newly built “X-Ray” ramp, which also accommodates the Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan and the Australian UAV Detachment.

Roto 8 spent six and a half months in Afghanistan, flying more than 3,100 hours. As well as continuing and building on UAV operations conducted by their predecessors, the team provided training to the newly-arrived Australian detachment and played a key role in developing their operation.

CHUD Roto 9 will continue the excellent work accomplished by Roto 8, helping – as their mission statement says – “to protect lives through the conduct of ISR missions”.

By Captain Jean-François Gallant, Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing - Canadian Armed Forces