Mixed Fleet
The Sud Aviation SA 318C Alouette II helicopters were gradually replaced by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105CBs from 1985 onwards, with a total of 12 in service. The Bo 105CBs were gradually phased out from 2003 onwards, with eight remaining active until the delivery of the last of the 16 newly ordered Eurocopter EC135 P2/P2+ / Airbus H135 helicopters manufactured in Albacete. The last Bo 105CB was officially decommissioned in January 2023 at Dakar Airport in Senegal. The SMA had maintained a permanent detachment there with a Bo 105CB helicopter since early 2007 to monitor immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. The Bo 105CB was very popular among the pilots and was considered the workhorse of Spanish police aviation.
Since 2001, the SMA also has been operating two EC120 (H120) Colibri helicopters, primarily used for training due to their single Arrius 2F turbine engine. Occasionally they are used for observation flights, but not above urban areas due to the single engine and associated restrictions. To transport special units such as the Gruppo Especial de Operaciones (GEO), a larger helicopter was needed. The EC225LP (H225) Super Puma was chosen, and one helicopter was eventually delivered in late 2010. However, due to high maintenance costs, it was transferred back to Airbus in Albacete after a year and sold to the Botswana defense force in 2016.
In 2003, the SMA obtained its first fixed-wing aircraft, a Beech 200GT Super King Air, seized during a police operation. Another aircraft, a Cessna C550 Citation II, was seized in 2009. It belonged to Marbella Airways, but was being used by a criminal associated with corruption and drugs. Both aircraft are still in use by the SMA, primarily for transporting special police units, transporting prisoners, and deporting immigrants. The two fixed-wing aircraft are stationed at the Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid. To fly and maintain the fleet of helicopters and aircraft, SMA currently has approximately 50 pilots, 55 technical personnel, and 40 system operators.
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