The Wiltshire Air Support Unit is based at Police HQ in Devizes. From this location they can reach any part of Wiltshire within 15 minutes of take-off. They work with both the Police and Ambulance Services and operate an Explorer 902 helicopter.  The helicopter, from call to lift-off, typically takes 2-3 minutes; this time is for the crew to reach the aircraft and complete the pre take-off checks.

The helicopter can and does operate outside of Wiltshire; some tasks have taken them as far away as Devon and London. When operating outside the county, the crew have the ability to communicate with the local Police and Ambulance Services.

It has a crew of three - pilot, paramedic and police observer. Each member of the crew has independent access and operation of the aircraft radio system. Naturally the aircraft is fitted with radios operating within the aeronautical band, however these will not be considered in any detail in this paper.

The focus will be upon the Police and Ambulance current command and control radio systems on board the aircraft and how the two services operate them. This will then be compared to how they expect to operate the aircraft when, in June 2004, the Force move across onto the Airwave TETRA based network.

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