US Coast Guard HC-144A deliveries remain on-track

A new HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft has been delivered by Airbus Defense and Space (D&S) to the US Coast Guard, bringing the fleet total to 17 HC-144A aircraft.

This is the second of three HC-144As planned for delivery in 2014. The aircraft will join the fleet operating from Coast Guard Air Stations in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Mobile, Alabama; and Miami, Florida; where it will perform a range of maritime patrol missions, including search and rescue, homeland security and disaster response.

Ocean Sentry is based on the Airbus D&S CN235 tactical airlifter. The aircraft are supplied to the coast guard equipped with a search radar, electro-optical and infrared cameras, an Automatic Identification System for data collection from vessels at sea, and a communications suite.

The Coast Guard is planning to stand up the fourth HC-144A air station in Corpus Christi, Texas, later this year. In total up to 36 of these maritime patrol aircraft will be acquired by the US Coast Guard.