Following the
Falklands War of 1982, the
Westland Sea King search and rescue aircraft of C Flight, 202 Squadron,
RAF Coltishall were deployed to provide
search and rescue cover for
BFFI (British Forces Falkland Islands), flying from Navy Point opposite
Port Stanley. The unit had a variety of designations before formally adopting
No. 1564 (Tactical Support) Flight as its title in 1983. When the Sea King and
Chinook units in the Falkland Islands were combined on the opening of RAF Mount Pleasant, they took on the title of
78 Squadron. 1564 Flight was reformed in November 2007, by re-designating 78 Squadron on the departure of the Chinook aircraft from the Falklands. The Flight operated two Sea King HAR3 helicopters, with crews provided on rotation from Nos.
22 and 202 Squadrons in the UK. The Sea Kings, however, were replaced due to the SAR privatization process.
AAR Corp was awarded a contract for helicopter search and rescue services in the Falkland Islands to replace 1564 Flight, they will use
AgustaWestland AW189 helicopters in the role from 2016. In March 2015, the UK announced that a pair of Chinooks would be stationed in the Falklands again. 1564 Flight disbanded on 31 March 2016 with a simple ceremony and flypast, following the privatisation of UK SAR. This represented the final ever flight of the RAF SAR Sea Kings by ZE370 and XZ593. Since official records began in 1983, the SAR operating from the Falklands have responded to 1,305 callouts and given life-saving assistance to 1,883 people. ==Aircraft operated==