The Shearwater Heliport is the location of the headquarters of 12 Wing, whose sole purpose is to support and operate shipborne helicopters for the Royal Canadian Navy. 12 Wing is a RCAF unit and reports to 1 Canadian Air Division.

12 Wing operates out of two locations with four squadrons:

• Shearwater Heliport
  • 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron is an operational training squadron for training all maritime helicopter aircrew in the Canadian Forces.
  • 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron is an operational squadron at Shearwater Heliport which provides CH-124 Sea King helicopters for Maritime Forces Atlantic warships.
  • 12 Air Maintenance Squadron provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support to 12 Wing’s operational squadrons.
  • Helicopter Operational and Test Evaluation Facility (HOTEF) is responsible for researching and testing state-of-the-art equipment for the CH-124 Sea King to enable crews to operate efficiently, ashore or while deployed.
• Patricia Bay Heliport
  • 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron is an operational squadron which provides CH-124 Sea King helicopters for Maritime Forces Pacific warships.