Coast Guard HITRON--a model of success

Sea Power, Aug 2002 by Cubanski, Edward J III

New Weapons in the War on Drugs Target Go-Fast Smugglers

For many years the United States lacked an effective means to interdict and apprehend drug runners using "go-fast" boats to smuggle their deadly cargo to U.S. shores. With approximately 80 percent of illegal narcotics entering the United States each year by sea, a new weapon in the war on drugs was clearly needed.

Following successful "proof-of-concept" demonstrations in 1998 and 1999, the Coast Guard created an armed Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron-- HITRON-that has added a potent capability to its law-enforcement arsenal. While the sea-borne smuggling challenge is still formidable, armed Coast Guard helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are now putting a big dent in the drug trade.

Tough and Wily Adversaries

The so-called "mules" paid to smuggle drugs by maritime routes are tough and wily adversaries. Their boats-typically 30 to 40 feet long and capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 40 knots-can transport up to 6,000 pounds of cocaine in each shipment. Before 1999, it was not unusual for a go-fast to outrun a Coast Guard surface unit or outlast a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft's time on station. During this period, the Coast Guard stopped only one of every 10 go-fasts sighted.

To reverse this trend, the Coast Guard began a program in 1998 to improve the effectiveness of its law-enforcement teams and increase the go-fast interdiction rate. Interagency approval was received authorizing the Coast Guard to use armed helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to stop drug-running vessels.

Following successful daytime tests, the Coast Guard modified MD-902 Explorer helicopters for night operations and evaluated tactics with pilots and aircrew/gunners equipped with night-- vision devices. A "proof-of-concept" unit established in 1998 relied on leased Explorer helicopters to develop and evaluate tactics and procedures.

The program's second phase entailed the deployment of Coast Guard "airborne-use-of-force" aircraft, helicopters, and cutters as part of an air-sea team during Operation New Frontier-a concerted effort to find and stop go-fast vessels. Cutters were equipped to launch and recover embarked helicopters with pilots using night-vision goggles. Fast "over-the-horizon-cutter" boats intercepted and boarded the go-fast vessels that had been detected and stopped by the helicopters, maritime-patrol aircraft, and cutters.

The over-the-horizon-cutter boat proved critical to success because it had the speed needed to extend the cutter's reach once airborne platforms detected their elusive quarry. Cutter-based lawenforcement boarding teams now could interdict the go-fast vessels stopped by armed Coast Guard helicopters and aircraft. Once on scene, the teams could board and search the target vessel-before its crew could dispose of contraband and incriminating evidence. If illegal drugs were, in fact, being smuggled, the teams would seize the vessel and contraband, and arrest the boat's crew.

The Explorer helicopter's "proof-of-- concept" success rate was 100 percentfive of five vessels located were stopped, netting 10,960 pounds of marijuana and 3,014 pounds of cocaine valued at $131 million. This success prompted the Coast Guard to enter into a short-term lease, through full and open competition, for the "squadron development" phase of the Airborne Use of Force program.

Airborne Use of Force

Following a solicitation for bids, the Coast Guard awarded a contract in 2000 to Agusta Aerospace for a "squadron-- development" phase using eight A-109E "Power" helicopters-military designation MH-68A-under a two-year lease. Based at Jacksonville, Fla., the helicopters were soon in operation conducting airborne-use-of-force missions.

The MH-68A is an all-weather, shortrange, interdiction helicopter equipped with state-of-the-art sensors. Suitable for deployment on Coast Guard cutters, the helicopter operates in tandem with other maritime assets with the express mission of interdicting drug-smuggling go-fast boats. The development phase of the program has resulted in the seizure of 16,519 pounds of cocaine with an import value of $528 million.

Since the addition of the armed helicopter to the Coast Guard's inventory, 11 of 11 go-fast vessels located have been stopped in the Caribbean and Pacific theaters, and 19,533 pounds of cocaine and 10,960 pounds of marijuana have been seized-with an estimated total import value of $660 million.

In all law-enforcement situations, Coast Guard personnel are trained to use the minimum force necessary to compel compliance. But in many cases the mere presence of armed Coast Guard helicopters is sufficient to convince the crews of interdicted go-fast vessels to stop. Not all drug smugglers are so smart or compliant. In four of 11 situations during this phase, aircrews were required to use the full range of graduated force-including warning shots and disabling fire-to stop the vessels detected.

HITRON is unlike any other aviation unit in the Coast Guard. It is a large unit with a single mission: Maritime Airborne Law Enforcement. Other Coast Guard air units are multimission-performing search-and-rescue, fishery law-enforcement, aids-to-navigation, counterdrug-- surveillance, and other missions. Because many of the ITRON pilots and aircrew have never flown armed helicopters employing new mission tactics (including disabling fire), they receive extensive training to develop the expert skills necessary for the tasks at hand.