Las Vegas Sun: $1M in new federal funding will prevent delays for Las Vegas police helicopters

Metro Police’s air support unit will upgrade helicopter hoists, searchlights and backup engines with more than $1 million in federal funding, officials said Tuesday.

The improvements are expected to strengthen the unit’s ability to carry out search-and-rescue missions, track suspects from the air and maintain operations when aircraft are out of service.

The funding — $1,031,000 for “Air Support Equipment Enhancement” — was directed to Metro through the Community Project Funding process. The legislation, which became Public Law 119-74 in January, allows members of Congress to designate money for projects in their districts and states. Nevada Democratic Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Susie Lee submitted the request for Metro’s air unit.

Rosen and Cortez Masto discussed the funding at a news conference Tuesday, highlighting the unit’s role in public safety across Southern Nevada.

Metro’s air support unit, the only agency in Southern Nevada operating a full-scale manned helicopter program, patrols Clark County about 20 hours a day, seven days a week. The team handled more than 9,000 service calls last year, recovered more than 400 vehicles and rescued more than 60 people.

The unit conducts aerial surveillance, search-and-rescue operations, transport flights and presidential motorcade escorts, and it maintains mountaintop radio repeater sites. Its crews are frequently deployed to areas such as Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon, and provide aerial coverage for major events on the Las Vegas Strip.

The federal funding will go toward helicopter hoists, searchlights and backup engines — equipment Cortez Masto described as “essential components we need for air support here.”

Metro Deputy Chief Esmeralda Boveda said the additions will help prevent service disruptions when the unit’s helicopters require maintenance.

The hoist system will allow crews to raise or lower people and equipment in areas where helicopters cannot land, while upgraded searchlights will aid in pursuits and nighttime searches, Boveda said.