Maryland State Police

Established 1961, the Maryland State Police Aviation Command operates 10 AW139 helicopters based out of seven sections across the state to provide medevac, search and rescue, aerial law enforcement, and homeland security services.

As of 2022, Callsigns / bases: Trooper 1 (Baltimore); Trooper 2 (Washington); Trooper 3 (Frederick); Trooper 4 (Salisbury); Trooper 5 (Cumberland); Trooper 6 (Easton); Trooper 7 (Southern Maryland); Trooper 8 (Norwood - closed Sept. 2008); Trooper 9 (fixed-wing); Trooper 17 (maintenance/ferry flight)

Trooper 1, the Baltimore Section, opened in 1961 at Martin State Airport to provide airborne law enforcement support for the Maryland State Police and other law enforcement agencies in and around Maryland. On March 19, 1970 Maryland State Police Aviation Command’s role was expanded and changed forever when MSP became the first civilian agency to transport a critically injured trauma patient by helicopter. The driving force behind this mission type of medical evacuation (medevac) was Dr. R Adams Cowley, the founder of Shock Trauma in Baltimore.

Trooper 2 is the Washington Section and is based out of a hangar on the east side of the ramp at Joint Base Andrews. The Washington Section conducts a majority of its mission in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Trooper 3, the Frederick Section, was placed in service in August 1973 and was based at the Frederick Barrack. The Section soon relocated to Frederick Municipal Airport and has remained there since. Trooper 3 conducts more hoist operations than all the other Sections combined.

Trooper 4, the Salisbury Section, was began in the summer of 1977 on weekends only and was originally based at the Berlin Barracks. During the summer of 1978, the Section moved to the Salisbury-Wicomico Airport and began full-time 24 coverage in January 1979.

Trooper 5, the Cumberland Section, was opened in 1982 and is the only Section outside of Maryland, based at the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport in Wiley Ford, WV.

Trooper 6, the Easton Section, was opened in 1985 and was originally based at a hangar beside the State Police’s Centreville Barracks on Rt. 301 in Queen Anne’s County, MD. In 2010, MSP moved the Section to a dedicated hangar the Easton Airport.

Trooper 7, the Southern Maryland Section, was dedicated in July of 1987. The section was originally located at Navy Hangar 101 of the Patuxent Naval Air Station, in Lexington Park, Maryland. Trooper 7 was relocated to St. Marys Airport in 1992.

Trooper 8, the Montgomery County Section, was located at a hangar in Montgomery County, MD. It opened in 1995 to provide overlapping coverage for the Washington and Frederick Sections for the numerous flight requests received in the area. It was closed in September 2008.