A HH-60G from the 129th Rescue Wing orbits over San Diego Bay during the exercise involving an attempted terrorist takeover of a ship at sea.

The exercise utilised local tourist vessels to simulate a larger cruise ship. Here a US Customs and Border Patrol HH-60 comes into a low hover over the simulated hijacked ship to set up for a fast rope insertion of a strike team.

A pilot from the 129th conducts a pre-flight inspection of the Pave Hawk prior to the afternoon launch.

First responders conducted radiological screenings of both large and small vessels. Here the HH-60 conducts a low-level flyover of the local vessel used as the simulated intercept target off the San Diego coastline.

The California ANG HH-60 staged out of nearby San Diego International Airport during the exercise. In this photo the team from the 9th CST prepares to load their specialised equipment onboard the aircraft.

Members of the 9th CST set up their equipment inside the helicopter in transit to the intercept of the boat. A laptop tied into the equipment the team uses to detect radiological and biological threats shows readings of what and how much of those threats exist in the nearby area.

The Pave Hawk aggressively turns in pursuit of the suspected terrorist vessel. As the 129th is from Northern California, and not entirely familiar with flying in the San Diego area on a regular basis, flying to and from the targets quickly was a major part of the exercise along with identifying and classifying the threats.