Sikorsky

Prestwick airport was a busy place tonight. Two Ryanair jets heading off for sunnier places, one to Barcelona and another to Alicante. A Royal Navy Sea King, Rescue 30, coming in to land at HMS Gannet. A Royal Navy Merlin HM1 flying over the airport and a Royal Navy Merlin HM1 departing to the South West. Also a Cobham Dassault Falcon 20 landing with some strand pods under the wings.

But tonight the post is of a Sikorsky S-61N operated by British International Helicopters. She took off and headed West. Likely to be in support of the Joint Warrior operation off the coast. I suspect that all the aircraft tonight, with the exception of Ryanair, are involved in the exercise.

Both Cobham and British International Helicopters have contracts with the UK defence industry for support. A privatised defence force, who would have thought.