A familiar sight in the skies above Cornwall and Devon but less so elsewhere, Ian Harding considers the unique and specialised operations of the Dauphin II helicopter that performs an important Flag Officer Sea Training role on behalf of the Royal Navy.
![FOST AS365 N2 Dauphin II [Ian Harding]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/3.%20ZJ165%20AS365%20RN%20IHarding%20EGDR%20sharp%20%5BLEAD%5D.jpg "3. ZJ165 AS365 RN IHarding EGDR sharp [LEAD].jpg")
The small and unique AS365 N2 Dauphin II fleet is tasked to operate a five-day week in support of the Royal Navy’s FOST programme, with the helicopters available for both day and night operations.
Ian Harding
British International Helicopters (BIH) has operated the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) helicopter support programme on behalf of the Royal Navy for more than a decade, using two Airbus Helicopters AS365 N2 Dauphin IIs. Before that, both aircraft were owned by Bond Helicopters, which managed the FOST programme from 1997.
