Over Half a Century
Sweden joined the United Nations just a year after it was founded, and it has always been an active promoter of peace and diplomacy. It has a long history of neutrality and has not been involved in a war for over 200 years. That does not, however, imply that this nation lacks an effective and powerful army and police.
Sweden’s police established an air unit back in 1964 when the Soviet Union’s leader, Nikita Khrushchev, scheduled a state visit. Without a helicopter at the time, the Swedish police decided to rent a Bell 47 for the occasion. Shortly after this official visit the police chose to expand their fleet by acquiring more Bell helicopters for several bases around Sweden.
Today the SNP air unit has five bases dispersed across Sweden to meet its duty of supplying the Swedish police with air support. “Our role is to perform and conduct police patrol, search for missing persons, mountain rescue, border patrol, fauna protection, and support to other Swedish authorities with air and sea rescue, firefighting, etc.,” says Thomas Lindell, the unit’s flight operations manager.
In 1992, revisions to European regulations mandated the use of twin engines for all night rescue operations, so the SNP had to update its entire air fleet. By 2015 the air unit decided to replace all its Eurocopters with Bell 429s. “What I like about these helicopters is the low vibration level and the horizontal flight stability,” Lindell says. “It’s fast and powerful. It’s a typical Bell to fly — smooth in the air and with very direct response to pilot inputs.”
Today the SNP air fleet consists of nine Bell 429 helicopters and one Bell 206 trainer at the flight academy for its approved training organization (ATO), taking the new recruits from ab initio to CPL(H) level.
Regular maintenance of SNP helicopters is essential since they are in the air for extended periods on a daily basis. The SNP air unit outsources its maintenance to Patria Helicopters AB.
Since SNP pilots must be familiar with terrain, refueling techniques, locations, landing zones, etc., they are required to serve at least three years as a police officer before applying for a pilot position, Lindell explains. “Whether the candidate meets all other requirements and appears qualified, then he or she must take additional exams at the Swedish Air Force. After that, the candidates with the best results are sent to our ATO for training,” he says.
The SNP currently has 35 pilots who fly on a daily basis. The Stockholm base operates with three nine-hour shifts that overlap by an hour to offer full 24-hour coverage, while the other bases work in two daily regular shifts.
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May/June 2023
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