Helicopter crash kills 2 Special Operations soldiers, injures 3

Helicopter crash kills 2 Special Operations soldiers, injures 3

Two special operations soldiers were killed and three others injured on Thursday evening when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during routine training off the Californian coast, Army officials said. Their helicopter crashed on San Clemente Island, which is about 70 miles west of Coronado and San Diego. The deceased were Staff Sgt. Vincent P. Marketta, […]

The Pic of the Day: Remembering the fallen in Mogadishu

The Pic of the Day: Remembering the fallen in Mogadishu

During the Battle of Mogadishu (3-4 October 1993), Task Force Ranger was going after the lieutenants of the Somalian warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed. As the ground force was egressing, an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down. This was the spark for a fierce battle that raged for almost a day. By the end of […]

Screw the Air Force, Special Operations Command wants its own SOF Close Air Support

Screw the Air Force, Special Operations Command wants its own SOF Close Air Support

In its quest for more effective close-air support (CAS), the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is turning away from the Air Force and is looking to purchase its own aircraft. According to a solicitation published on the U.S. government’s site, SOCOM is looking to set up a fleet of at least 75 armed overwatch aircraft. […]

Less Blackhawks, more Chinooks for Afghanistan’s premier SOF aviation unit

Less Blackhawks, more Chinooks for Afghanistan’s premier SOF aviation unit

Afghanistan’s premier Special Operations Aviation unit is slotted to receive an unspecified number of CH-47 Chinooks from the U.S. Established in 2005, the Special Mission Wing (SMW) is the cream of the crop of the AAF. With less than 1,000 pilots and ground personnel in its ranks, the unit was initially designed to support counter-narcotics […]

Kenya gets attack choppers after deadly attack on US base

Kenya gets attack choppers after deadly attack on US base

Following the deadly attack on a joint American-Kenyan base earlier this month, the Kenyan military just got several light scout attack helicopters. More specifically, the Kenyan military received 12 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior scout attack helicopters. The fuel tanks of the MD 530Fs can withstand direct hits from ammunition up to and including 7.62mm. Also the […]

How Spec Ops helicopters defeat heat-seeking missiles

How Spec Ops helicopters defeat heat-seeking missiles

The MH-47G Chinook helicopter fleet, one of the most important aviation assets of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), is getting a new countermeasure system aimed at improving its survivability on the battlefield. More specifically, the MH-47Gs are being outfitted with the AN/AAQ-24 LAIRCM. This enhancement is a Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) system that […]