Valtheim International AirportIt was perhaps one of the more unusual duties that
Fiona Atherton had ever found herself doing. She was effectively 'in the crows nest' as she piloted her
Wasp around the airspace of the airport, keeping as high an altitude as she could while keeping her head on a swivel and watching for drones, it was something they trained for though that was for military drones these were more over the counter recreational ones. Fiona glanced at her weapons controller Pilot Officer Paul Nielsen as like her he kept visually scanning the skies around them, it wasn't that they didn't trust that their onboard equipment worked it was more that they weren't sure that something as small as some of these drones would register.
"Got anything?" Fiona asked
"Nothing." Paul said then there was a sudden breath "Hold on picking something up bearing to our right and behind."
"Ok then." Fiona said banking the helicopter around so that they could see what they were looking at "That's a microlight."
"What's one of them doing in restricted airspace?" Paul asked "Did it just drift off course?"
"No idea, think it has a radio?" Fiona asked
"I'm not sure." Paul said, Fiona flipped the radio button and broadcast on an open channel.
"This is call sign Shooting Star of the Achkaerin Air Force calling the microlight with the yellow wings." Fiona said "You have entered restricted airspace, adjust course to the west and leave the area at once."
"No response." Paul said
"I say again leave the area at once." Fiona said
"Still nothing." Paul said
"Oh come on." Fiona sad as she dropped in behind the microlight "Don't make me have to do this."
Now things got even more complicated as a passenger airliner entered the equation, Fiona tightened her grip on the joystick flipped the radio again this time to the secured channel "Control this is Shooting Star, have unresponsive civilian recreational aircraft in restricted airspace, unsure if intention is to interfere with incoming passenger aircraft. Please advise." she said over the radio then she sighed "Paul go weapons hot."
"Ok but I hope we don't have to." Paul said
"This guy had better notice there's a plane on its way in." Fiona said
"Unless he's about to do something stupid." Paul said
"Shooting Star this is control." the response came over the radio "If aircraft does pose a risk, neutralize."
"Copy." Fiona said, she trained her sights on the microlight and was about to open fire when the microlight banked away, with a huge sigh of relief Fiona banked well clear of the incoming jet. "That was too close."
"Yeah let's not have to do that again." Paul said
"Safety the weapons." Fiona said "I'm returning to patrol path."