TAMPA, Fla. — One among the signature helicopters of special operations forces won’t get the expected relief from a serious alternative program now that it was canceled earlier this 12 months.
U.S. Special Operations Command has relied on versions of the A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopter for a long time. But while the commercial-turned-military aircraft has received a series of upgrades to maintain flying, it should struggle to maintain up with the formation in the approaching years.
The Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, or FARA, was seen as the answer. Planners expected that aircraft to start replacing the Little Bird by the mid-2030s.
However the service canceled FARA in February.
“That modified our equation because that was going to grow to be the armed platform that was going to take the role of the [Little Bird],” said Steven Smith, USSOCOM’s program executive officer for rotary wing programs.
Speaking here Tuesday throughout the Special Operations Forces Week conference, Smith said the move would also push using the MH-60M Black Hawk helicopter into the 2050s or longer.
“So now we don’t have that solution available. We’re going to be sustaining those aircraft for a very long time,” Smith said.
The Little Bird is built by personnel on the a hundred and sixtieth Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Defense News reported as early as 2016 that USSOCOM was examining the strain and capability gaps of the aircraft. Only that command uses the aircraft, so it must pay the bill for any work on the platform. For other military aircraft, corresponding to the Black Hawk or the Chinook, the command can profit from regular Army upgrades.
In 2022, officials at this conference noted the Little Bird’s speed was slowing existing formations and couldn’t sustain with future aircraft. To fill the gap, the rotary wing program director on the time, Geoff Downer, said the military would pursue hybrid power, or electrification, which might push speeds beyond the present maximum speed of 80 knots.
But that’s not a near-term option. “I just don’t think the funding’s there to support that electrification work,” Smith said Tuesday.
Smith added that he’s seeking to industry for improvements to the drivetrain and rotor blades that might help with speed.
The aircraft is within the midst of receiving a next-generation tactical radio system, improved sensor systems and a brand new fuselage. The Boeing-built fuselage raises the gross weight limit to five,000 kilos, up from the previous 4,700 kilos, which required multiple integrated kits, Smith said.
Those previously planned upgrades will keep the Little Bird flying until 2034, in accordance with timelines shared during Smith’s presentation.
Beyond that date, USSOCOM is on the lookout for latest solutions, he added.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.