Coast Guard HITRON ­ A Model of Success

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

By EDWARD J. CUBANSKI III

Lt. Cdr. Edward J. Cubanski III, USCG, a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, is the platform manager of the Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON). He serves in the Office of Aviation Management at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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 law-enforcement 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 percent--five 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, short-range, 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 HITRON 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.

Staying One Step Ahead

The squadron is a myriad of integrated training departments working together to hone the skills of the pilots and aircrew/gunners. The unit conducts its own pilot and aircrew initial aircraft transition course in the MH-68A helicopter, including dual-aircraft day-and-night formation tactics. Aircrew receive their initial weapons familiarization training at a contracted facility in North Carolina. After returning to the squadron, they are qualified in more rigorous in-flight tactics during day-and-night gunnery training.

Squadron personnel credit the effectiveness of their training and mission success to the expert assistance provided by Marine Corps pilots and aircrew assigned to Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.

HITRON operates its own go-fast tactical training boats to ensure pilots and aircrew/gunners can counter the evasion tactics typically employed by go-fast vessels. Additionally, pilots and aircrew/gunners undergo extensive weapons training--with a tactical training boat filling the role of the drug-smuggling vessel. Squadron personnel are always researching, developing, testing, and evaluating new equipment and procedures as part of their never-ending effort to stay one step ahead of the smugglers.

The success of the HITRON operations has given a huge boost to the morale of Coast Guard men and women on the front lines of the war on drugs. Airborne-use-of-force platforms and tactics have become highly effective tools for curtailing go-fast smuggling. Much remains to be accomplished to banish go-fast drug-smuggling from the seas, but there is no question that the HITRON helicopters are sending an increasing number of smugglers to just one destination--jail. *