The Police and Border Guard Aviation Group () is a mixed helicopter and airplane flight unit formerly operating under the

Estonian Border Guard The Estonian Border Guard () was the national security agency responsible for the border security of Estonia. It was subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The Border Guard also assisted with Search and Rescue missions. In 2010, the organi ...

, but now subordinate to the

Police and Border Guard Board The Police and Border Guard Board () is a unified national governmental agency within the Estonian Ministry of Interior and is responsible for law enforcement and internal security in the Republic of Estonia. The main tasks of the agency are to ...

. The squadron is a rapid response search and rescue unit, which also conducts medical transport and border patrol operations.

History

The creation of the unit began with the establishment of the Border Guard Flight Department in 1992. The unit was officially established on 8 February 1993, under the name of National Border Guard Squadron and the unit started operating from

Tallinn Airport Tallinn Airport () is the largest international airport in Estonia. The airport is also officially called Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (') after the former president of Estonia Lennart Meri. The airport is located southeast of the city centre ...

. Arvo Palumäe became the commander of the squadron. The squadron initially operated two Let L-410 airplanes, donated by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1992 and received on 23 February 1993. The airplanes started participating in

HELCOM The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission, HELCOM) is an intergovernmental organization governing the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki Convention). A regional ...

flights that same year. On 1 September 1994, based on the squadron, the Estonian National Aviation Group was established. The unit participated in the rescue efforts of the

MS Estonia MS ''Estonia'' was a car-passenger ferry built in 1980 for the Finnish shipping company Rederi Ab Sally by Meyer Werft, in Papenburg, West Germany. She was deployed on ferry routes between Finland and Sweden by various companies (first Vikin ...

disaster. As a result of that tragedy, a helicopter squadron was quickly established during that same year. German Air Rescue () donated four former

Air Forces of the National People's Army The Air Forces of the National People's Army ( [], ) was the air force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). A ...

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

helicopters for the squadron (a fifth one was sent for spare parts), which were officially handed over on 7 December 1995. On 22 April 1997, the unit was subordinated to the

again and renamed the Border Guard Aviation Group. In 1999, Allan Oksmann became the commander of the unit. Between 2007 and 2011, the unit received new AW139 utility helicopters to replace aging Mil Mi-8 helicopters. The unit participated in a Frontex mission called "Poseidon 2009" with one

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

. In 2010, the unit was transferred to the newly established

and made subordinate to the Border Guard Board. The unit has been under the command of Kalmer Sütt since at least 2012. A new complex of the Border Guard Board was opened at the

Kuressaare Airport Kuressaare Airport (, ) is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated about 3 km southeast of Kuressaare town centre in Saaremaa Municipality. Overview The first runway was built in the last half of the 1930s. The airport was opened officia ...

in 2013. The unit transferred under the Intelligence Management and Investigation Department during a restructuring of the Police and Border Guard Board in 2014. In 2020, the aviation group was moved under the Border Guard Department.

History

Equipment

Current equipment

Former equipment

References

External links