'Bluey' the Heron - Credit: SGT W. Guthrie Copyright: Commonwealth of Australia
The fourth rotation (ROT 4) of Australia’s Heron* Detachment in Kandahar, Afghanistan, has set a unit record for monthly flying hours of 475 hours during April.
Commanding Officer Heron RPA Detachment – ROT 4 Wing Commander Greg Wells said “This exceeds the efforts of previous Heron rotations and means we have reached a point where we are able to achieve a significant amount of time on station providing an all-important ‘eye in the sky’ for our troops. One of the advantages of Heron is it can stay airborne for a very long time. We deliver enhanced situational awareness to our soldiers, which is vital in helping them achieve their mission on the ground. We are very proud of the record-breaking milestone the team has achieved this month, and we will continue to push our performance to exceed this in the future.”
The Heron team comprises 28 Australian and New Zealand Defence Force personnel. The tri-service unit has logged more than 4600 total flight hours since beginning operations in January last year. Heron ROT 4 currently operates three airframes forming part of a larger International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) UAS capability in Afghanistan. The Australian Herons are unarmed.
*dubbed ‘Bluey’ by the Australians