page_title: Western Australia Police
section_title: Police Air Wing
hierarchical_section_title: Western Australia Police / Police Air Wing
caption_attribution_description: Kawasaki BK117 - WA Police Polair 61 helicopter.
context_page_description: The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population of only 2.474 million, of which 2.14 million reside in the Perth Metropolitan Region.
context_section_description: The Police Air Wing provides support services to gt frontline police, including deployment of police personnel, crime detection and prevention, search & rescue and medical transfers.
  As of 2017 the fleet comprises:
  Helicopters
  one twin-engine Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin N3 for special operations, transport and rescue;
  one twin-engine Kawasaki BK117 for general operations and backup capability
  Fixed-wing
  one single-engine GippsAero GA8 Airvan
  two single-engine Pilatus PC-12
  The Air Wing has a primary base at Jandakot Airport, in addition to a PC-12 being based at Karratha Airport.
  The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turbo-prop aeroplane which can carry a maximum of eight passengers 1800 km (as far as Broome). It can cruise up to a height of 30,000 ft (9,100 m) and can travel at approximately 500 km/h. The PC-12's primary role is to transport staff statewide, but it can be utilised for search and rescue (SAR) and disaster relief efforts. The Cessna 182 is mainly used for surveillance and patrol work and can be fitted with a Leo400 FLIR unit. It is also used for inshore and land SAR searches.
  The Kawasaki BK117 is a twin-engine helicopter, which has been upgraded to B2 specification. Purchased in 1990, and known as Polair 61, the aircraft's role is police patrol, surveillance, search and rescue and officer deployment. It is fitted with a Star Safire III FLIR unit with downlink capabilities, Avalex digital recorder, Avalex moving map system, four monitors, Wulfsberg tactical radio, Nitesun searchlight and a double-lift 600 lb (270 kg) rescue winch. FLIR (Forward looking infrared) cameras track heat sources, such as a vehicle or human body in darkness and have a high-powered zoom video camera for daylight hours.
  In September 2011, the Police Air Wing took delivery of a new Eurocopter AS365 N3 helicopter, known as Polair 62. The cost of the new helicopter has been reported at $13 million for the helicopter, plus $9 million of equipment enhancements including Forward Looking Infra-Red cameras, winches, and live surveillance with downlink capabilities to the Police Operations Centre.
caption: Polair 61 (VH-WAH)
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