The Swedish police force’s aviation department has completed its fleet renewal programme, after a seventh EC135 was recently delivered. The department made the decision in 1999 to replace its seven Bell 206 LongRangers with brand new EC135s. Chief pilot and head of the flight department, Per Linderberth, said: “We’ll be using the aircraft for search and rescue, surveillance and general police work. Two of them have cameras and others have been fitted with winches, cargo hooks and loud speakers. Each helicopter also has two pairs of goggles for night vision.”

All of the LongRangers have now been disposed of, said Linderberth: “Unfortunately two of the helicopters we were going to sell were destroyed in a fire at our Stockholm hangar. Others have gone as far away as Australia, while one has remained here in Sweden. ”

The helicopter unit covers the whole of Sweden, making these seven the only police helicopters the country has. “Two of the EC135s are based in Stockholm and another two are in Gothenburg (which are our main bases), while the rest are spread throughout the country. Seven helicopters isn’t really enough, but finances play a role in limiting it to this number.

“We worked for around a year on a presentation for the government to secure the finances for this upgrade, so there were no real difficulties. Obviously it will save money in the long run because they will be more efficient,” said Linderberth.

Operations have been adapted with the addition of these aircraft, allowing the department to increase its flexibility. “For the moment there are no further plans to expand because we have to adjust to a new helicopter system, which means it will take time to train pilots. In two or three years I think the subject may come up again, because we’ll need at least one bigger transport helicopter for special missions and moving equipment,” he added.