From September 2006, five re-engined HH-65 Dolphin helicopters, which are operated by the US Coast Guard, are being flown to protect the US capital.

“The protection of the airspace above Washington D.C. is a prestigious task of vital importance; it is prohibited for civil airplanes to fly over the capital at low altitude,” explains Rear Admiral David Kunkel, Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District.

“We carry out these duties using five re-engined HH-65 Dolphins, which are very powerful and reliable, and which we have been using for thirty years.”
These five aircraft are all based out of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
At any given time, three of the five aircraft are forward deployed to Reagan Airport in support of the National Capital defense.
Besides the protection of the airport, all five helicopters are strictly set aside for operations over the capital, and their aim is to intercept airplanes infringing this restricted airspace, and escort them out of the prohibited area.
“Two years ago, a small private airplane flew into this zone by mistake and we had to evacuate the capitol as a precaution. Now, thanks to the HH-65s, we can prevent the risk of attack on the capital a lot more effectively. These aircraft are ready to fly in a matter of minutes.”

The Re-Engining Program
“We are particularly proud to see that the re-engined HH-65s are being flown to improve homeland security,” explains Commander Erik Langenbacher, head of the HH-65 product line of the US Coast Guard in Elizabeth City.
“We have done everything possible as part of this aircraft re-engining program to ensure a maximum level of safety and reliability for our crews.
By June, we should have finished the re-engining of 84 helicopters, and we could never have met this target without the help of Eurocopter and American Eurocopter.
The availability of our fleet is now excellent, and this is thanks to the work performed by the logistics and technical support teams from Eurocopter and its subsidiary, while credit must also go to the Design Office and Production teams who prepared the kits. They all played a major role in the success of this program.”

“This first-rate level of cooperation allows us to quickly solve any problem that can arise in a program of such complexity. Last February, Eurocopter delivered the final re-engining kit and the assembly lines based here in Elizabeth City, or in Columbus, Mississippi, at American Eurocopter, are working flat out to meet the goal set for the month of June.”
Commander Langenbacher ends on an upbeat note: “Fingers crossed that everything will go as planned.”