TAMPA, Fla. — US special operations helicopters must be significantly upgraded to successfully handle future stealth operations “quieter” and using fewer aircraft, Program Executive Officer for Rotary Wing Steve Smith said Thursday.
“We all saw the events in January, and incredible capability demonstrated, but it took immense numbers of aircraft and layered effects,” Smith said at the SOF Week expo here, referring to Operation Absolute Resolve in which the US captured Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. “We’ve got to be able to do that quieter with fewer aircraft, so we need holistic systems that are on the aircraft that can generate those layered effects.”
Special Operations Command’s fleet of MH-60Ms and MH-47Gs — operated by the 160th Nightstalkers Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) — could benefit from technology injections coming from the MV-75 Cheyenne platform due to enter service with SOF in the mid-2030s, he noted.
“To date, we have done a lot of early risk reduction activities for the SOF-peculiar integration. The Army is bringing a very capable airplane, and we’re going to put very capable special mission equipment on board, so that the air crews and operators can get into the places that they need to get into,” he noted.
