RAF assists seal count

The Royal Air Force supported a recent count of the seal population in the Thames Estuary. No.1 Flying Training School (FTS) based at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, has been involved in supporting an important ecological survey while also providing training opportunities for its helicopter pilots. The Thames Estuary, declared ‘biologically dead’ in the 1970s, has seen a remarkable comeback in the last few decades and is currently inhabited by a large population of seals. Each year an effort is made to