The Air Support Unit (ASU) was a

Central Operations Central Operations (abbreviated CO) was a major directorate of the London Metropolitan Police Service that provides operational support to the rest of the service. It was commanded by Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, formerly Chief Constable o ...

branch of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's Metropolitan Police Service. The main responsibility of the unit was to provide aerial

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

and other air support operations. Helicopters are particularly useful in aiding searches for missing persons, car pursuits, suspect capture and large public order operations such as football matches. The ASU also supported other emergency services, including the London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service and Marine Coastguard. On 31 March 2015, the

National Police Air Service The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police aviation service that provides centralised air support to the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, as well as the three special police forces serving that area. It replaced the pr ...

took over providing air support to the Metropolitan Police Service (along with all other police forces in England and Wales). This resulted in the closure of the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit. The Metropolitan Police Service has also reportedly been secretly using Cessna aircraft for a number of years that have been fitted with surveillance equipment capable of intercepting mobile phone calls and listening in on conversations. Formed in 1980, the unit was based at Lippitts Hill, Essex and had 48 personnel comprising 3

sergeants Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, 18

constables A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

, 4 aircraft engineers, 1 avionics engineer, 11

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

s and was headed by an inspector. The unit also employed other members of staff, including operations room staff and an intelligence officer. The senior management were based at

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

police station. All pilots were ex-military Royal Navy but also Army Air Corps. Each aircraft was crewed by a pilot with two officers acting as observers, and averaged over 260 flying hours per month. In 1980, the ASU started with Bell 222A helicopters and in 1993 transitioned to Eurocopter AS355N Squirrel helicopters. In July 2007, the ASU took delivery of three new

Eurocopter EC145 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which ...

s costing a total of £15million, using the call signs India 97, India 98 and India 99. Each aircraft has an L-3 Wescam MX-15 sensor pod which houses a gyro-stabilised colour "day" camera and a thermal imaging camera with digital video downlink from the helicopter. In February 2015, it was announced that the control of the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit was to be transferred to the

(NPAS) on 31 March, and that the base at Lippitts Hill would close in the following year. A projected new base at

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

was intended to serve Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Essex as well as London. However, by February 2017, a replacement for the Lippitts Hill base had not been procured, and the possibility of using

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owner ...

instead was being investigated. On 7 September 2017 it was provisionally agreed by Epping Forest District Council to allow the unit to operate three helicopters and one fixed wing aircraft from North Weald Airfield in Essex, with a 25-year lease. Bell222-g-metb

References

{{Coord, 51, 39, 15, N, 0, 1, 5, E, display=title, region:GB-ESS_type:landmark Police aviation units of the United Kingdom Air Support Unit Defunct organisations based in the United Kingdom 2015 disestablishments in England 1980 establishments in England

See also

References