The Armed Forces of Malta last month celebrated 37 years of colourful history. Photographer Ben Borg Cardona spent a few days behind the scenes with the AFM’s Air Wing, which has carried out over 300 rescue missions since 1991, to find out more about the brave contingent’s daily operations.

The AFM’s Air Wing can be seen patrolling Malta’s airspace tirelessly every day of the year, weather permitting, keeping an eagle’s eye over Malta’s domain.

Perpetually on stand-by to answer any emergency call, the gamut of the unit’s operations is wide and covers search and rescue missions, emergency air transport missions from the Gozo General Hospital to St Luke’s and the surveillance of Malta’s territory for illicit drug smuggling and human trafficking operations, to name just two crimes they look out for.

Flying practically 365 days a year, apart from when only the harshest weather grounds its aircraft, the AFM also provides a range of support services for the Civil Protection Department and Frontex – the European Union’s border control agency that conducts sea and air patrols around Malta during the height of the migration seasons – and has carried out over 300 rescues since 1991.

Shifts in the 24/7 operations begin at 7am with nine officers, 79 enlisted men and 15 aircraft standing ready to burst into action at a moment’s notice to handle any situation thrown at them.

Spending time with the Air Wing recently, the overriding sentiment from the men was their sense of pride and duty in what they do, as well as their dedication to the preservation of human life. Their dedication is evidenced regularly, particularly when inclement weather brings with it rough seas, by daring rescue missions conducted in even the most extreme of weather conditions.

But such efforts, which many times could be described as nothing short of heroic, are often under-appreciated and seldom recognised by the public at large.

While pride, dedication and bravery are fundamental to the job, what also became very clear and which was echoed by every member of the team was an overwhelming spirit of teamwork abounding throughout every segment of the unit’s operations.

There is a feeling that each and every part of the unit is integral to each other and essential in maintaining the unit’s overall airworthiness. And although the aircraft under its remit are beginning to show their age, they remain serviceable and the unit strives continually to keep them in the best working order.

After being shown around the unit’s offices and hangars, the unit was suddenly called into action and I had the good luck to have accompanied them on an aerial observation flight.

A group of irregular migrants had been spotted making their way toward Malta’s southern coast. An hour-long search pattern carried out by the plane’s crew finally resulted in the sighting of a small vessel packed with irregular migrants. As per standard practice, the plane remained on station and observed the craft’s movements until it was relieved by an AFM patrol boat sent in to attend to the scene.

From the chefs preparing the unit’s meals, to the rescuers putting their very lives on the line as they jump from aircraft to save others who have found themselves in danger, to engineering technicians who work around the clock and to the pilots flying back-to-back missions maintaining Malta’s airspace – the feeling of equality, co-dependence and cooperation, the very synthesis of teamwork in the true sense of the word, prevails above all else.