Everyone wants to know exactly how the take-out-bin-Laden-operation went down. Part of what we know for sure is that badass Navy SEALs did the shooting, and were carried to the site by another elite team – the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, or SOAR (aka the “Night Stalkers”).
The bird of choice appears to have been specially modified MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
The Night Stalkers are called upon for missions that involve direct assault, reconnaissance, or the insertion/extraction of special forces. They predominantly fly four helicopters: The MH-47E/G Chinook, MH-60L DAP, A/MH-6 Little Bird, and the MH-60K/L/M Black Hawk.
The MH-60K Black Hawk is a beast. It carries 11 fully equipped soldiers (or up to 10,000kg), travels at 300km/h and, thanks to its 870-litre fuel tanks, can fly over 1200km without refuelling – and it’s able to do so in all weather conditions. As if all that wasn’t enough, the MH-60K is also capable of refuelling in the air.
The MH-60K packs some serious heat with a variety of options to choose from – say, two M134 miniguns today? Perhaps an M230 30mm chain gun? How bout trying a GAU-19 gatling gun?
Aside from its muscle, the Black Hawk has plenty of other amenities to make it an attractive fighting machine. With an ALQ-144 infra-red jammer, many missiles won’t be (at least as much of) a problem. And the Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) sensor helps guide the helicopter’s AGM-114 missiles to their targets. The main takeaway point is: In a fight, this thing would probably kick your arse. [National Journal, americanspecialops]
Monster Machines is all about the most exceptional machines in the world, from massive gadgets of destruction to tiny machines of precision, and everything in between.
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