The Dutch Naval Air Base De Kooy in Den-Helder was had a special visitor for a period of two weeks. A CH-148 Cyclone helicopter of the Canadian Air Force (RCAF) or Aviation Royale Canadienne (ARC) flew from this Dutch base in this period. The CH-148 Cyclone is the military version of the Sikorsky S-92 Helibus and is designed for the Canadian Armed Forces. The helicopter belonged to the HMCS Halifax of the Royal Canadian Navy. This ship had some unforeseen maintenance in the port of Den-Helder. The Cyclone which flew from De-Helder is assigned to the 12 Wing, 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron which is based at CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia in Canada.
The Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone is a twin-engine, multi-role shipboard helicopter developed by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation for the Canadian Armed Forces. The CH-148 Cyclone is designed for shipboard operations and replaced the outdated CH-124 Sea King. The Sea-King was in operation from 1963 until 2018. The search for a Sea King replacement originally began in the 1980s.
The CH-148 Cyclone is operational within the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as of 2018 and is assigned in the role of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), surveillance, and search and rescue missions from Royal Canadian Navy warships. The helicopter is also able to provide tactical transport for operations supporting national and international security efforts. In 2004, Canada awarded Sikorsky Aircraft a contract for 28 CH-148s with deliveries planned to start in 2009. Deliveries were repeatedly delayed due to development problems until the delivery of six initial helicopters was started in June 2015. It is expected that the last Cyclones will be delivered in the mid of 2022.
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