Royal Canadian Air Force touches down at YXC for military training

Royal Canadian Air Force touches down at YXC for military training

Published 3:11 pm Tuesday, September 15, 2026

East Kootenay residents may hear the drone of helicopter wings passing overhead this month, as the military conducts training exercises at Canadian Rockies International Airport, near Cranbrook.

The Royal Canadian Air Force’s 3 Wing 439 Domestic Response Squadron has launched operation BENGAL ALPIN 26, to conduct helicopter training exercises in a mountain environment.

The Squadron will be training at the airport up until Sept. 22, flying north to Invermere and Golden in two CH-146 Griffon helicopters. This is the first time the entire 34-person Air Force squadron has left home base in Bagotville, Quebec and deployed to the other side of the country.

Helicopter pilot J.D Demers said the local mountain environment has pushed the Squadron to its limits, teaching them how to navigate narrow valleys and strong winds, and fly at lofty heights. Demers said the mountains in this area are 11,000 feet, 1,000 ft higher than the maximum height allowance for their Griffons.

“Aside from poor performance at high altitude, the winds are the second biggest threat,” said Demers. “The helicopters like to land into wind if we’re downwind. In the mountains, the upper winds will have a specific direction, but as soon as you go in valleys in the lower terrain there, the wind will canalize us.”

Aside from flying, the Squadron is attending workshops, learning equipment maintenance and logistical planning, and practicing using wildlife defence weapons.

Each helicopter can lift up to 11,900 pounds and support as many as 16 people, however Demers said transporting four to five people is standard. Most missions include two pilots, a flight engineer and one or two flight paramedics.

Sgt. Dom Lavallee, a Search and Rescue Technician, said he has deployed to numerous situations including backcountry injuries, plane crashes, animal attacks, and mechanical break-downs. He’s even flown north to remote reservations to assist Indigenous women experiencing pregnancy complications.

The Squadron has more recently become involved in domestic response to help evacuate remote towns ravaged by forest fires and floods, as climate-related weather incidents become more frequent.

Wildfire services are the main line of defence in a crisis, but the military can be called in to provide back-up support.

“We’re kind of the last resource. If the government is not able to provide enough support, then they’ll call us,” Demers explained.