To make the aircraft shipboard compatible, several joint Coast Guard and U.S. Navy efforts were required. Initial delivery of all eight aircraft was delayed by the manufacturer, but once delivered, the U.S. Navy completed electromagnetic interference certification testing, and U.S. Navy test pilots established shipboard pitch and roll limitations. In addition, the M240 7.62mm machine gun weapon system, and the RC50 .50 caliber laser-sighted rifle was field fired and certified for aerial use by the U.S Navy Surface Warfare Center.

HITRON pilots then quickly validated day and night mission tactics, formation flying, performed takeoffs and landings from the cutter and created initial flight training and aerial gunnery training syllabi to qualify the pilots and aircrew in the MH-68A.

Other shipboard related procedures such as removing the blades, traversing the aircraft into the cutter's hangar bay, and maintaining the aircraft in a salt-water environment were also addressed and successfully accomplished.

The squadron also pioneered the use of Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) for night shipboard landings; a first for the Coast Guard, a standard now being adopted Coast Guard wide. The unit also assisted in the evaluation of the latest generation of the ANVIS-9 Night Vision Goggles integrated with the ANVIS-7 heads-up display (HUD) system, and were the first users in the world to operate the latest generation of these night vision devices.

 The MH-68A is a version of the Agusta A109E "Power" commercial aircraft. The primary mission of HITRON and the Stingray is counternarcotics, with a secondary role of maritime homeland security, which includes terror alerts, surveillance and identifying vessels. The unit routinely deploys on board high-endurance cutters for 45 to 80 days at a time, on both the East and West coasts. It is not uncommon for three or more MH-68As to be deployed simultaneously at different locations.

The U.S. Coast Guard's first patrols in 2002 using tough new tactics employing armed MH-68s, a dedicated version of the twin-engine Agusta A109 Power helicopter, scored a perfect three busts in three attempts against drug-laden speedboats bound for U.S. shores. The U.S. Coast Guard’s three interdictions netted a combined total of more than 13,000 pounds of cocaine along with several arrests.

Present operational doctrine authorises MH-68 crews to disable the engines through pinpoint rifle fire of suspected vessels that fail to halt following several warnings. These include verbal demands to do so transmitted via loudspeaker, and tracer fire across the vessel’s bow.

Rated as an all-weather aircraft, the MH-68A carries an array of avionics that give the Stingray crew enhanced situational awareness. In addition, the helicopter is built with high-strength, lightweight KEVLAR[R] brand fiber which is also used in bullet-proof vests for the crew. It is powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW206C engines, and cruises at 140 knots for about two hours leaving 20 minutes of fuel reserve.

 HITRON air operations officer Commander Ed Cubanski III has more than 2,500 total flight hours in the T-34C Turbo-Mentor, TH-57 Sea Ranger, HH-65A Dolphin and the MH-68A. He said, "The MH-68A is the only helicopter in the Coast Guard inventory that has a single-engine fly-off capability at maximum gross weight. It is very maneuverable and has a multimission capability. As part of Operation New Frontier, HITRON interdicted 41 percent of the cocaine netted by the Coast Guard last year.

"While the aircraft is small and a commercial off-the-shelf helicopter, it is well-suited for our needs and is reliable," he continued. "It has a 95-percent availability rate for deployments. Agusta has bent over backward for us and we are pleased with the aircraft. I enjoy flying the aircraft; it fits me like a glove. It has good communication and sensor suites and is responsive. Its power and engines perform as advertised."

You can fly today this copter into fs2004. It has tons of features and animation as the pilots, the gunners etc.