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Space
aboard naval vessels is always at a premium, and the Sea King, with its fold-up
rotor and tail, fits perfectly on the smallest deck.
 It's a ship-based helicopter with both day and night flight capabilities,
and is carried aboard many Canadian Maritime Command destroyers, frigates and
replenishment ships.
The Sea King carries detection, navigation and weapons systems as part of
its primary mandate of searching for, locating and destroying submarines. With
its subsurface acoustic detection equipment and homing torpedoes, it's also
a versatile surveillance helicopter.
Domestically Sea Kings have increasingly become responsible for search and
rescue operations, disaster relief, and assisting other government departments
in carrying out counter-narcotic operations, fisheries and pollution patrols.
 The
Sea King has also been instrumental in peacekeeping operations. For example,
during the deployment of forces to Somalia, the CH-124 provided troops with
logistics, medical and ammunitions support along with flying overland reconnaissance
and convoys. It was, in effect, the only link soldiers had with the ships especially
during the initial stages of the deployment.
The Sea King fleet has been heavily committed to the campaign against terrorism,
deploying aboard Canadian Navy ships to the Persian Gulf since the fall of
2001. Sea Kings have conducted hundreds of missions ranging from logistics
flights to move personnel and cargo around the Coalition task groups to hailing
and boarding of suspicious vessels.
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