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Airbus Military (EADS CASA) HC-144 Ocean Sentry

Maritime Search and Rescue Aircraft (2009)

The Airbus Military HC-144 of the US Coast Guard is an SAR variant of the successful Spanish CN-235 series twin-engine tactical transport.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/28/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

The HC-144 "Ocean Sentry" is a fixed-wing, twin-engine aircraft utilized by the modern United States Coast Guard (USCG) service in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role. The type is built atop the framework of the earlier, proven EADS (now Airbus Military) CN-235 tactical transport as thus retains its high-winged monoplane and twin-turboprop configuration as well as its powered rear loading ramp to access the cargo hold. The service took on a stock of 18 total HC-144 aircraft in all, beginning in 2009, and these continue to operate today (2020) in their given over-water role.

Prior to 2009, the USCG was seeking an active replacement for its jet-powered HU-25 "Guardian" business jets by Dassault which covered the same over-water role. The service, therefore, elected to adopt the CN-235-300 MP (Maritime Patrol) "Persuader" model of the C-235/CN-235 series as a successor due to its inherent over-water / Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities, procurement costs, and proven pedigree. As a turboprop-powered design, the newer HC-144 offered considerably more range and improved low-and-slow flying when compared to the twin-jet-engined business jet.

First units became available to the USCG in December of 2006 while squadrons were at-the-ready come April 2009. The series then celebrated its 100,000th hour of operation in September of 2017. Since then, the type has been used with success in a variety of operations - from humanitarian assistance and SAR to environmental reviews and anti-drug / maritime enforcement.

As designed, the aircraft carries an operating crew of six personnel and features a running length of 70.2 feet, a wingspan of 84.7 feet, and a height of 26.9 feet. Empty weight is 21,605lb against a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 36,400lb. Power is by way of 2 x General Electric CT7 series turboprop engines rated at 1,870 horsepower each, giving the performance of a jet engine with the efficiency of a propeller-driven design. These drive four-bladed propeller units in tractor (puller) fashion. The engines are underslung at each wing mainplane. Performance includes a maximum speed of 295 miles-per-hour and a range out to 1,800 miles - giving the platform an mission endurance window of nearly nine hours.

Specifications

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