- A U.S. Army special operations aircraft and five personnel were lost earlier this month in a crash within the eastern Mediterranean.
- The helicopter and crew belonged to the elite a hundred and sixtieth Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), also generally known as the “Nightstalkers.”
- The a hundred and sixtieth provides transport and shut air support for America’s commandos, including Delta Force and Seal Team Six.
A helicopter lost off the coast of Cyprus earlier this month was a part of the U.S. Army’s elite helicopter unit, created to support special operations troops. The helicopter, likely an MH-60K or MH-60L Blackhawk, was conducting a refueling exercise when the crash occurred, killing five soldiers from the Fort Campbell-based a hundred and sixtieth Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the “Nightstalkers,” which have participated in virtually every U.S. military operation since 1980.
The October 7 Hamas attack and taking of American hostages to Gaza triggered an “unprecedented” deployment of U.S. special operations forces to the region, journalist Jack Murphy reported last week. In line with his sources, Delta Force and Seal Team Six personnel, in addition to Army Rangers, were flown to a Royal Air Force base on Cyprus, likely RAF Akotiri. Also accompanying the bottom forces were a “package of helicopters from the Army’s a hundred and sixtieth Special Operations Aviation Regiment.” Here’s what you must find out about them.
Born within the Iranian Desert
The story of the a hundred and sixtieth starts in 1980. A failed effort to rescue American hostages in Iran resulted within the deaths of eight U.S. military personnel. A collision on the bottom at a distant staging area between a helicopter and C-130 transport resulted within the destruction of each aircraft, dooming the mission and causing the mission commander to abort.
One among the teachings of the failed raid was that ad-hoc organizations couldn’t conduct high-risk operations involving U.S. special operations troops. The raid, generally known as “Operation Eagle Claw,” was forced to make use of Marine Corps pilots to fly Navy helicopters to move U.S. Army Delta Force troops. Personnel from all three branches were brought together to coach for and execute the raid, all of whom had their very own procedures, rules, and training. This created friction; although all the personnel were highly expert, they weren’t expert in working together.
In response, the U.S. Army created Task Force 160, originally a handpicked group of pilots and aircrew from the one hundred and first Airborne Division whose only mission was to supply support to Delta Force and other U.S. special operations forces. The unit was later designated the a hundred and sixtieth Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne); although there is no such thing as a practical way for the unit to parachute into battle, all personnel are reportedly airborne-qualified.
Little Birds and DAPs
The a hundred and sixtieth consists of a regimental headquarters, 4 aviation battalions, and a dedicated training company. A lot of the unit is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, though a fourth battalion, activated in 2006, is predicated at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
In line with the unit website, it’s organized as follows:
Currently, 1st Bn. has one AH-6 Little Bird helicopter company, one MH-6 Little Bird helicopter company and three corporations of MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters; 2nd Bn. has two MH-47 Chinook helicopter corporations; and third and 4th bns. each have two MH-47 Chinook helicopter corporations and one MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter company. Each battalion also has a Headquarters and Headquarters Company and a maintenance company.
The a hundred and sixtieth flies three kinds of helicopters. The smallest are the AH-6 and MH-6 “Little Birds,” that are small two-person helicopters which can be extensively modified from the civilian MD-530F light helicopter. The AH-6 version (above) is a lightweight attack helicopter that may carry an M134 7.62-millimeter minigun or M260 7-tube 70-millimeter rocket pod. The MH-6 is provided with “People Pods,” skids that allow 4 special operations troops to ride on the surface of the helicopter.
The second kind of helicopter is the MH-60K and MH-60L assault transport helicopter. The MH-60s are modified versions of the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, fitted with forward looking infrared (FLIR) night vision for the pilots, midair refueling probes, additional fuel bladders to extend range, and two M134 miniguns for door gunners. The regiment also operates a heavily armed version of the MH-60, the MH-60K Direct Motion Penetrator (DAP), which is usually armed with a 30-millimeter M320 cannon (the identical gun that equips the AH-64 Apache), two forward-firing M134 miniguns, and 70-millimeter rockets or Hellfire anti-tank missiles. The DAP is usually utilized in the gunship role, providing long-range armed escort of other helicopters and shut air support for troops on the bottom.
A special variant of the MH-60 was only revealed in 2011, when a mysterious shrouded tail rotor was left behind after Operation Neptune Spear, the raid to kill Osama bin Laden. This Black Hawk, also generally known as the MH-X or Stealth Hawk, is designed with a reduced radar signature for infiltration and exfiltration purposes. One helicopter crashed in the course of the bin Laden raid and was destroyed on the bottom, and 6 others are known to exist. Other than photos of the rotor, there aren’t any actual photographs showing what the MH-X really looks like.
The third helicopter within the Nightstalkers’ inventory is the MH-47G Chinook. The MH-47G is a heavy assault transport able to carrying as much as 50 personnel, or a mix of personnel and lightweight vehicles akin to the Ground Mobility Vehicle or armed versions of the Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle. The MH-47 equipped with FLIR, aerial refueling probes, and multi-mode radar designed to permit the pilots to fly through rain, smoke, and other adversarial conditions. It also features missile warning systems, anti-missile flares, and a laser designed to divert a heat-seeking missile away from the helicopter.
From Urgent Fury to Inherent Resolve
One among the a hundred and sixtieth’s first operational deployments was Operation Urgent Fury, the 1983 invasion of Grenada by U.S. forces. From 1987 to 1989, units of the Regiment deployed to the Persian Gulf, where its helicopters were involved in Operation Prime Probability, a secret campaign designed to stop Iran from harassing business shipping within the region. In 1988, the Nightstalkers were involved in Operation Mount Hope III, the recovery via MH-47 of a Soviet-made Mi-25 “Hind” attack helicopter within the Libyan desert.
In 1989, 160 helicopters were involved within the Invasion of Panama, and in 1990–1991 deployed to Kuwait to help U.S. special forces, particularly those trying to find Scud missile launchers in western Iraq. 1993 would see the unit’s most famous motion, the “Battle of the Black Sea” incident wherein U.S. forces became involved in a running 12-hour firefight with Somali militia, later retold within the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.
From 2001 onward, the a hundred and sixtieth was heavily deployed within the Middle East and Central Asia, against each Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and later within the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and pro-Hussein regime guerrilla groups. In 2011, helicopters including the MH-X participated in Operation Neptune Spear, the killing of Osama bin Laden, and from 2014 onward the unit deployed to Syria/Iraq as a part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the war against Islamic State forces.
The Takeaway
The worldwide nature of American interests requires a globe-trotting military able to executing missions virtually anywhere on Earth. The a hundred and sixtieth Regiment is a vital a part of the U.S. special operations community, allowing for lightning-fast air assault operations. From stealing helicopters to rescuing innocent hostages, the a hundred and sixtieth does all of it.