Iceberg Reconnaissance & Oceanographic Operations 



Reconnaissance Operations 



International Ice Patrol fornnally 

 begins its seasonal ice observation and Ice 

 Patrol service when icebergs threaten 

 primary shipping routes between Europe 

 and North America. This usually occurs in 

 February and extends through July, but Ice 

 Patrol commences operations when 

 iceberg conditions dictate. The 1992 

 season, the longest on record, ran for 203 

 days from March 7th through September 

 26th. Except during unusually heavy ice 

 years, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland 

 are normally iceberg free from August 

 through January. 



IIP utilizes a Coast Guard C-130 

 long-range aircraft equipped with a 

 Motorola AN/APS-135 Side-Looking 

 Airborne Radar and a Texas Instruments 

 AN/APS-137 FoHA/ard-Looking Airborne 



Radar to conduct iceberg 



reconnaissance. Reconnaissance flights 

 are made on the average of five days 

 every other week during the ice season. 

 Coast Guard aircraft are the primary 

 means of detecting icebergs that form 

 the limit of all known ice. When iceberg 

 reconnaissance is not being conducted, 

 IIP relies on computer modeling to 

 predict iceberg drift and deterioration 

 and determine the LAKI. 



The Ice Reconnaissance 

 Detachment is a sub-unit under 

 Commander, International Ice Patrol with 

 Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City 

 providing the aircraft platform. The IRD 

 is deployed to observe and report ice 

 and oceanographic conditions on the 

 Grand Banks of Newfoundland. 

 Oceanographic observations are used 

 for operational and research purposes. 



FLAR & SLAR Radar Coverage 





SLAR 



30 nm track spacing provides 200% radar coverage of search area 



30 nm 

 track spacing 



Figure 9 Radar reconnaissance plan. 

 10 



