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Post by corsair67 on Dec 21, 2005 13:50:36 GMT 12
From the Australian Newspaper today.
Search and Rescue Fleet Boosted
AAP December 21, 2005
A NEW $172 million fleet of aircraft will boost Australia's search and rescue capabilities to unprecedented levels, Transport Minister Warren Truss said today.
Four Dornier 328 twin-engine turboprop aircraft will be stationed at Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Perth as part of an upgrade of Australia's search and rescue services, Mr Truss said.
Along with a further Dornier already commissioned for Darwin, Mr Truss said the fleet would provide optimal coverage for search and rescue operations.
"The aircraft have the capability of flying further and faster than their piston-engine counterparts that have been the basis of search and rescue services until now," he said.
Dedicated to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority for search and rescue, the fleet is expected to begin operating in August next year and reach full capability by 2007.
Mr Truss said the aircraft would be equipped with the latest technology, including surface search radar, Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) night search equipment and satellite communication.
"The aircraft will have specialised detection equipment to home in on emergency beacon transmissions and radio distress calls and the capability to deploy life rafts and other emergency equipment to people in distress situation," he said.
"This fleet of modern dedicated search and rescue aircraft will provide an unprecedented level of search and rescue responsiveness, significantly strengthening Australia's search and rescue capacity and reinforcing our excellent reputation in this field."
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