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| Science & Technology |
| The Army's Legendary Little Bird Might Be Flying Away for Good |
| 2021-06-07 |
| [Popular Mechanics] The U.S. Army’s elite fleet of A/MH-6 "Little Bird" special operations helicopters might give way to civilian choppers in the coming years. The Army could swap the Little Birds, which the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment has used for nearly 40 years, for the winner of a new armed reconnaissance helicopter competition. The catch? Just one of the two competing helicopters can actually carry troops—a key requirement for the Little Bird’s replacement. In 1981, following the failure of the mission to free the U.S. hostages in Tehran, the U.S. Army founded Task Force 160, an elite helicopter unit designed to support special forces ground units. The unit received its first A/MH-6 helicopters in 1983; since then, the "Little Birds" have served in the aviation unit continuously. The small and nimble helicopters fly low to mask their appearance and avoid enemy fire. Other helicopters in the news: American Action News - Russia’s Deadly Mi-28NM Attack Helicopters Cause ‘Havoc” in Conflict |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #10 Thanks Besoeker for the extra info. NOTE: my apologies for going off topic focus to everyone. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2021-06-07 17:16 |
| #9 Thanks for the update. Some of us love the LB. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-06-07 12:17 |
| #8 So the answer is nope. US SOCOM has contracted for block 3 of the MELB. Nothing secret here. The composite blades are in production, the performance of the blades are so strong, that new airframes were ordered and being delivered. The new avionics package is in development, all the money is appropriated by congress and the contracts are all in the delivery phase. The blades and airframe are Boeing and the avionics are Rockwell. All programs are on schedule or ahead. Now to the new recon aircraft. Lockeed would love to get that coveted slot in our arsenal. But the new aircraft will be way too big. There is a reason for the little bird, otherwise it would all be blackhawks and 47s in the 160th. BTW, the new recon aircraft is as long as a 47. Wont work... |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2021-06-07 12:01 |
| #7 Is it Autogyro season again, already? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-06-07 11:55 |
| #6 So, digital airframe, fuel efficient, fly-by-wire, realtime airframe and operator telemetry to Overwatch and OP center... Flies like a brick when a bullet hits the console. Can't wait for the silent electric model. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-06-07 10:35 |
| #5 How Noriega came to power. BTW, Otter's are pretty reliable airframes. Link to NYT 'bad weather' crash story |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-06-07 10:09 |
| #4 Interesting story I won't bore anyone with, but Mannie Noriega... another Klingon creation gone terribly bad. "Zonians"... so-called Americans living in the Canal Zone at the time. Another interesting breed. I should leave it at that, but go ahead and spit once or twice for good measure. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-06-07 10:01 |
| #3 Another somewhat recent Muse story. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-06-07 09:40 |
| #2 Kurt Muse extraction...didn't know any of the operators but here is the story. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-06-07 09:37 |
| #1 Besoeker, Was it Rob, that hopped and skipped his damaged little bird down the Panama streets during Operation Just Cause to keep his team from being killed? Only time will tell if New school beats Old School in a REAL combat situation. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2021-06-07 08:38 |