Coast Guard beefing up its choppers for coastal patrols

The Coast Guard will soon fly armed patrols over the Connecticut and Long Island coastlines.

The addition of the M240 machine gun to its helicopters, said Capt. Daniel A. Ronan, will serve as one more tool the Coast Guard can use to protect the public.

"We fly near areas where we have critical infrastructure, like the Thames River, Millstone (Power Station) and the port of New Haven with the oil terminals," Ronan, commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, said Monday. "That's where they'll be flying, and where people will potentially see them doing a low, slow pass."

The Coast Guard normally conducts air patrols over these areas, including the Naval Submarine Base, in helicopters to make sure that vessels do not travel too closely near the infrastructure and into the security zones. The patrols with armed helicopters are expected to begin within the next several weeks.

"If someone is in that area, it doesn't mean we're going to shoot them," Ronan said. "Normally it's because they don't know the regulations. But if we do determine that someone is in that area and they pose a threat of death or serious bodily injury to the people at that facility or the American public, then we can take action."

Ronan said the Coast Guard has been flying armed helicopters since 2000 in the Caribbean, to shoot out engines of boats trying to bring drugs into Miami.

"It proved to be very, very successful and accurate," he said.

Some of the Coast Guard's small boats, including those used to escort submarines, are already fitted with machine guns.

"It makes perfect sense to put that capability in a helicopter as well," Ronan said. "You have a vantage point from a more stable platform. If you shoot down, it's a much safer evolution than shooting on a horizontal angle from a small boat while bouncing on the waves."

The Coast Guard began using armed helicopters in more ports after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In the Northeast, these patrols have flown out of Boston and Providence and will now fly along the Connecticut and Long Island coastlines.

The helicopters for Sector Long Island Sound will fly out of Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. Ronan said the frequency of the armed patrols will depend on the Coast Guard's three-tiered system of maritime security-threat levels.

"Right now we're at the lowest level. We could ratchet up to level two or three and then the patrols would become more routine," he said. "Right now, several times a month people should expect that helicopters flying patrols for us will be armed."

Ronan has notified people the Coast Guard works with, including ferry companies, about the change.

"The Coast Guard wanted to make sure our partners knew we had this tool so they don't get overly concerned when they see it, thinking that something is happening," he said. "It's just something we're adding to our arsenal."