The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has taken delivery of a new AS 350B3 from Eurocopter Canada. It is the seventh to join the Canadian law enforcement force’s fleet of 38 rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. The RCMP has also exercised its option for an eighth AS 350B3. Both will go into service in western Canada–one with K Division
in Edmonton, Alberta, for search and rescue, aerial photography and transportation of special police units to remote areas; the second will be based in Comox, British Columbia, and will be tasked with contract work for the province, as well as federal duties such as drug interdiction. The delivery is particularly appropriate as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the RCMP’s Air Services Branch.