Upgrades ahead across the special operations helicopter fleet

This article by Todd South was originally published by Air Force Times.

Special operators are upgrading nearly every aspect of their helicopter fleet as they await the Army’s newest addition to the rotary wing section.

From the MH-6 light attack assault “Little Bird,” to the MH-60 medium attack assault “Blackhawk,” to the MH-47 heavy assault “Chinook,” officials who develop the aircraft showcased ongoing upgrades Thursday at the Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week.

Developers continue to tweak the Little Bird, the small but powerful aircraft unique to SOCOM.

“It is your streetfighter,” said Paul Kylander, product manger of the aircraft for Program Executive Office-Rotary Wing. “When operators want to get to your front door, this is the aircraft they use.”

The “R” model project is finding ways to lighten the aircraft for greater speed and range by resetting the entire fleet’s fuselage with lighter materials.

The project is also upgrading the cockpit for better avionics management and an advanced airborne tactical mission suite, Kylander said.

Those upgrades are part of ongoing efforts that will continue until 2034 for the aircraft. Then, plans call for a Block 4 upgrade or a possible divestment between 2035 to 2042.

They’re also lightening main and auxiliary fuel tanks and both the attack and assault planks for the aircraft.

The MH-60 is seeing some of its own upgrades.

Related: Special Forces engineers are training to dig ditches and destroy tanks

A team from the U.S. Army 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Special Operations Mountain Warfare Training Center gather for a photo in front of a 207th Aviation Troop Command, Alaska Army National Guard, UH/MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, prior to a training mission on Joint Base Elmendorf – Richardson, Alaska, Feb. 23, 2024. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Andrew Estrada)

Software updates, navigation tools for degraded visual environments, improved sensors, sensor data fusion and next generation tactical communications are currently being installed on the MH-60 fleet, said Lt. Col. Cameron Keogh.

There’s ongoing work to improve the engine life of the YT706 engine, and future efforts include building an open architecture common cockpit.

On the weapons side, the Blackhawk is adding the joint air-to-ground missile, a conformal lightweight armament wing, M-230 recoil dampers, the GAU-19 Gun Pod and a helmet display tracking system.

Those additions provide more options to Blackhawk crews.

“Having a quiver full of tools to do your job is pretty handy,” Keogh said.

The Blackhawk will also see an improved crew chief seat, AN/PQ-187 Silent Knight Radar nose door reconfiguration and upturned exhaust suppressor II, engine inlet barrier filter for dusty environments and the GE T901 Improved Turbine Engine.

On the heavy side, the MH47G Chinook is seeing increased demand for payloads, range and speed, said Lt. Col. Thomas Brewington, product manager for the Chinook at the PEO.

The oldest frame in the Chinook fleet will retire soon after 59 years of service, Brewington said.

But the aging platform is seeing its own set of advancements with a replacement of the existing flight control pallets, which augment manned flight by using a system called the Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem.

The system “augments manned flight by providing tactile cueing to prevent the pilot from exceeding an aircraft performance limit resulting in increased safety and operational usage while reducing pilot workload during the most critical stages of flight,” Brewington said.

An October 2024 test of the system allowed a “hands off” landing on a predesignated point by a Chinook crew at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Brewington said.

The system is a “stepping stone” to autonomous pilot assist, he said.

Feature Image: An MH-6 “little bird” helicopter flies over Tampa Bay, Florida, during a capabilities demonstration in 2024. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Steven Patzer/U.S. Navy)

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