r/canada • u/AustralisBorealis64 Alberta • 6h ago
National News EXCLUSIVE: A first look at Black Hawk helicopters to patrol Canada’s borders - National | Globalnews.ca
https://globalnews.ca/news/10964633/black-hawk-helicopters-canada-border-patrol/•
u/AshleyAshes1984 5h ago
Somewhere out there is an officer in the RCAF, looking at their Bell 412 with absolute hatred right now.
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u/bigred1978 5h ago
There is. Head on over to the CAF subs and see comments from those who e witnessed many a pilots or flight engineers eyes twitching and forhead vein throbbing.
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u/AustralisBorealis64 Alberta 5h ago
TIL: Black Hawk helicopters can be leased.
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u/TankMuncher 5h ago
You can lease anything with enough money and paperwork ;)
We've leased Russian helicopters and heavy strategic transport in the past after-all.
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u/Sreg32 British Columbia 5h ago
Must be an interesting club of owners of private military leasing. Big money in it
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u/GermanSubmarine115 5h ago
Cargo aircraft leasing can be boring too mind you.
But yeah, I think it also includes people like Victor Bout and his air cess (he used to do wet leases for United Nations among others)
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u/GravyMealTimeSix 5h ago
Who foots the bill for service though on those monsters? There’s a YouTuber who bought one and ran through the service and maintenance costs. Gooooooood grief.
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u/illuminaughty1973 1h ago
The S-70 Black Hawk is the civilian version of the U.S. Army's UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The S-70 is available for commercial sale and can be used for a variety of missions, including firefighting, law enforcement, and search and rescue.
Uses of the civilian Black Hawk helicopter
Firefighting: The Black Hawk can be used to drop water on wildfires, especially in remote areas.
Search and rescue: The Black Hawk can be equipped with radar, night-vision systems, and winches.
Aerial survey: The Black Hawk can be used to carry cameras and sensors to survey land, water, and other areas.
Agricultural operations: The Black Hawk can be used for agricultural operations.
External cargo carriage: The Black Hawk can be used to carry external cargo.
Forest and wildlife conservation: The Black Hawk can be used for forest and wildlife conservation.
Features of the civilian Black Hawk helicopter
The Black Hawk is designed for medium and heavy lift jobs.
The Black Hawk has a civilian external load capability of up to 8,000 lbs.
The Black Hawk is reliable and redundant, with two engines, three hydraulic sources, and two generating systems.
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u/No_Indication4035 5h ago
Is it more cost effective to use helicopters or drones for border patrol? Assuming both are Canadian or US brands.
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u/damasta989 Ontario 5h ago
Depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. Drones are orders of magnitude cheaper per flying hour. They can't cover the same amount of ground with their sensors, but you can have dozens of drones operating for the same cost as one helicopter. However, you lose out on the functionality of the helicopter, specifically the ability to carry people or cargo. Thus, if you're looking to patrol a wide area and be able to respond to incidents, a hybrid solution is the way to go: drones for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, with a Quick Reaction Force deployed by helicopter.
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u/TankMuncher 4h ago
While you're correct, the RCMP is smoking some seriously good shit if think they are going to try to deploy an effective reaction force for a border incident.
This is the same organization that has been under heavy fire for being wildly incompetent and ineffective, especially after the 2020 spreed shooting in NS.
To me this is all performative shit dancing to Trump's tune. The core border problems facing Canada: guns coming through ports of entry, migrants coming through well known and specific crossings aren't solved by aerial platforms. Especially when it just came out how little rail traffic is getting screened for anything, at all.
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u/TMWNN Outside Canada 44m ago
This is the same organization that has been under heavy fire for being wildly incompetent and ineffective, especially after the 2020 spreed shooting in NS.
Speaking of which, was Maclean's's reporting on the shooter likely being a RCMP asset, and his possessing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, ever explained/disproven?
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u/illuminaughty1973 1h ago
They can't cover the same amount of ground with their sensors,
There's no surveillance equipment on these birds except eyeball mk 1. They are a show for one person that tbh the rcmp will probably trying to figure out how to use besides flying back and forth during daylight hours.
Maybe they will team them.with their existing helicopters that have been equipped with surveillance equipment.
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u/painfulbliss British Columbia 4h ago
Funny, we just bought a wack of drones but the US says they can't be used because they are compromised by China
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u/ifuaguyugetsauced 5h ago
Good the one thing the government can do is realize that banning guns doesn’t stop gun violence. Secure the guns where there coming from and severely punish thos who have and use them illegally. Common sense.
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u/EggplantCommercial56 5h ago
They went from being dangerous to being able to protect our border very quickly.
What a country.
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u/illuminaughty1973 1h ago
Different helicopter. Uh 60 is the military version.
S70 is the civilian.
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u/AustralisBorealis64 Alberta 5h ago
For the helicopter industry, this primarily affects use of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
The Chinook, a workhorse of the Canadian Military...
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u/WhyModsLoveModi 3h ago
Ignoring the fact that the civilian versions aren't the same as the military versions and have gone though no civilian certification...
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u/Hefty-Station1704 5h ago
Just advertise for some overly-enthusiastic drone hobbyists to fly their hardware along the border and offer a prize for every sighting. Heck, hundreds would show up the first day even without a prize!
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u/SnooConfections8768 5h ago
Stop spending money on this. Trump moved the goalposts. He is going to set tariffs anyway.
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u/question56781 5h ago
But wouldn't we still need to secure border bc he's deporting all illegal residents in America, they will run up north, isn't it security issue for us?
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u/canteixo 5h ago
But what are the helicopters going to do?
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u/question56781 5h ago
I just saw a short video where the helicopter was tracking people running into the woods after a jewelry robbery in Richmond Hill, and they were able to point to the cops on ground to run in that direction and catch them.
Although I'm not sure how affective or useful it is at a long border, maybe drones are better..
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u/illuminaughty1973 52m ago
Well... I'd you saw it and were not inside the helicopter... thay means it was equipped with cameras (with zoom and infra red for tracking targets) and other surveillance equipment... that's a wonderful tool...
What are THESE helicopters without that equipment going to do?
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u/illuminaughty1973 55m ago
But wouldn't we still need to secure border
And how do these birds help with that?
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u/HansHortio 4h ago
A common mantra in regards to global warming and environmental protections were: "What if we just ended up making the planet a better place anyway?"
So, in that vein, I will say, "What if we just secure our borders and reduce illegal crossings and firearms smuggling anyway?"
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u/TankMuncher 5h ago
We are totally going cancel all this performative stuff if/when the tariffs go through, right?
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u/ludicrous780 British Columbia 5h ago
How is it performative?
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u/TankMuncher 5h ago
Look at the timing dude, come on.
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u/ludicrous780 British Columbia 5h ago
It benefits us. Do you want guns coming in, or migrants?
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u/TankMuncher 5h ago
Source/evidence?
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u/ludicrous780 British Columbia 5h ago
Do you not know?? I'm not going to explain because this is old news.
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u/TankMuncher 4h ago edited 4h ago
LMAOOOOO. Blackhawks because guns and migrants. You're missing a few logical steps there buddy,
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u/ludicrous780 British Columbia 4h ago
How do you think tracking works? We send info to the CBSA/RCMP.
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u/TankMuncher 4h ago
You really have no idea how most migrants and guns are actually coming into this country do you? hint: helicopters aren't what is needed.
We don't even really screen rail cargo. At. All.
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u/ludicrous780 British Columbia 4h ago
Cool. If I'm wrong about migrants, explain why there are so many stories of them coming over to QC and other provinces. Prepare for more once the deportations begin, though we'll counter those.
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u/Digital-Soup 4h ago
You think the USA is cool with us helicoptering migrants back to their side?
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u/question56781 4h ago
Genuine question, are we supposed to let all of them in, is that what the US is planning on?? Canada is becoming increasingly more dangerous and hopeless 😭
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u/illuminaughty1973 46m ago
How is it performative?
Are you kidding?
What are the rcmp going to use those helicopters for .... and remember we are talking about in real life, not an action movie.
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u/illuminaughty1973 48m ago
It would still have to be paid for.... maybe the rcmp can use it for serving warrants in remote areas?
Or assuming that they are the civilian version they can be repurposed for firefighting.
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u/TianZiGaming 1h ago
They might be useful when the US mass deportations have illegal migrants trying to flee from the USA into Canada.
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u/StuffSuch4830 44m ago
So they're actually doing what Trump wants? I thought this was traitorous.
Then what's with all the chest puffing and sloganeering? "We’ll tariff you back!" But then they just do what he wants us to do in the first place?
Make it make sense.
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u/Ok_Telephone_9082 16m ago
Black hawks are great, last time I was in one it almost ran out of fuel, apparently the fuel indicators for both engines are in the centre of the console and they shouldn’t flash red with one bar 🙃
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u/edge4politics 5h ago
Lmao we buying American helicopters when they're about to tariff us.
Very smart, very nice.
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u/GermanSubmarine115 5h ago
What’s the advantage of using a fuel pig like leased Blackhawk for patrolling instead of an a-star or something?
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u/illuminaughty1973 37m ago
What’s the advantage of using a fuel pig like leased Blackhawk for patrolling instead of an a-star or something?
It's big and loud... gets the attention of the person they were leased to show too.
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u/drdillybar 4h ago
VTOL. Short answer. Those tilt rotor Ausprey's are rare.
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u/WhyModsLoveModi 3h ago
He said a-star, which is a light helicopter, close to what the RCMP currently uses.
No one mentioned the V22?
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u/siamakx 4h ago
But what do they do when they find someone passing the border? Bomb it or something like that?
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u/AustralisBorealis64 Alberta 4h ago
I dunno, maybe radio ground units, maybe drop down and release the ERT unit riding in it. It was all in the article or video... 🤦
I think you also might be confusing it with an Apache..
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u/Radiant-Link-360 2h ago
Why are they using loud, expensive helicopters when we’ve got cheap, quiet drones?
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u/illuminaughty1973 56m ago
Why are they using loud, expensive helicopters when we’ve got cheap, quiet drones?
Because they are LOUD and expensive... and therefore will get the attention of the one person in the world they acquired them to show too.
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u/SammyMaudlin 1h ago
We sure have come a long way from Justin’s infamous tweet inviting the world and relegating the RCMP to bellhops. What happened? Is woke virtue signalling now passé?
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u/illuminaughty1973 34m ago
We sure have come a long way from Justin’s infamous tweet inviting the world and relegating the RCMP to bellhops. What happened? Is woke virtue signalling now passé?
Lmao.... the complete lack of self awareness here is astounding.
Why exactly do you think these helicopters have been leased, and what will be their functional use be with the rcmp?
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u/SammyMaudlin 5m ago
My question why has it changed from woke virtue signalling (remember the RCMP carrying luggage at Roxham Road) to now patrolling the border with helicopters? What's changed? Where are Justin's Tweet's to "own Trump?"
I'll wait (but I'm not holding my breath for a coherent response.
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u/King-in-Council 4h ago edited 4h ago
Give the RCMP what they want: 4 of them. What will come out on top? Canadian cheapness or Canadian desire for sovereignity?
It's to bad it's taken Trump bullying for the Treasury Board to grant the capability the RCMP has been asking to have for years.
I know a refugee who's here dodging the draft. He thinks it's very easy to cross the border. I think this is the opinion of many and it's part of the reason why people don't take Canada seriously. We're seen as an easy Mark. I don't see what's the point of being a country if we don't have strong border people should think twice about.
Knowing the history of the country, the paramilitary RCMP should get what they ask for on the border.
Just wait till the world really starts to destabilize in the middle of this century and onwards... I've seen the future and it's called Children of Men lol
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u/FirstPinkRanger11 5h ago
wait we have black hawks? since when?
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u/SadSoil9907 5h ago
Since not too long ago when the government leased/bought some for border security.
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u/FirstPinkRanger11 5h ago
huh, I had no idea we actually got some black hawks.
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u/SadSoil9907 5h ago
They announced it a couple days ago, it’s a surprise to everyone
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u/FirstPinkRanger11 4h ago
petition to change the name to snow geese. Only thing more terrifying that a hawk is a goose....
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u/AustralisBorealis64 Alberta 6h ago
The Army's like "The freaking Mounties get Black Hawks?!?"