The
MH-6 Little Bird, and its attack variant, the
AH-6, are single-engine light helicopters used for
special operationsSpecial operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
aviation in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
. Originally based on a modified OH-6A, it was later based on the
MD 500EThe MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach...
, with a single five-bladed main rotor. The newest version, the
MH-6M, is based on the MD 530F and has a single, six-bladed main rotor and four-bladed tail rotor.
Development
In 1960, the U.S. Army issued Technical Specification 153 for a
Light Observation HelicopterThe Light Observation Helicopter program was a United States Army program to evaluate, develop and field a light scout helicopter to replace the Army's aging OH-13 Sioux. The program gained impetus with the advent of the Vietnam War and was aided by advances in helicopter technology, specifically...
(LOH) that could perform personnel transport, escort and attack missions, casualty evacuation and observation. Twelve companies took part in the competition and Hughes Tool Company's Aircraft Division submitted the
Model 369. Two designs, those submitted by Fairchild-Hiller and
BellBell Helicopter Textron is an American helicopter and tiltrotor manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A division of Textron, Bell manufactures military helicopter and tiltrotor products in and around Fort Worth, as well as in Amarillo, Texas, and commercial rotorcraft products in...
, were selected as finalists by the Army-Navy design competition board, but the Army later included the helicopter from Hughes as well.
The first Model 369 prototype flew on 27 February 1963. Originally designated the
YHO-6A under the Army's designation system, the aircraft was redesignated the
YOH-6A under the
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
's new joint system in 1962. Five prototypes were built, fitted with a
AllisonThe Allison Engine Company was a U.S. aircraft engine manufacturer which was acquired by Rolls-Royce plc in 1995 to become a subsidiary, Rolls-Royce Corporation. With the acquisition of Allison, Rolls-Royce expanded its product line to the point where it can now offer engines in virtually all...
T63-A-5AThe Allison Model 250 is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s...
, and delivered to the U.S. Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama to compete against the other 10 prototype aircraft submitted by Bell and Fairchild-Hiller. In the end, Hughes won the competition and the Army awarded a contract for production in May 1965. The initial order was for 714 aircraft, but that was later increased to 1,300 with an option to buy another 114. Seventy helicopters were built in the first month.
This agile, unarmed helicopter is outfitted with outboard "benches" designed to ferry up to three commandos on each side. There is also an attack variant, the AH-6. Painted black for nighttime operations, this small aircraft can conduct rapid insertions and extractions of special operations forces into areas its larger brother, the MH-60 Black Hawk, cannot.
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
After the April 1980 failure of
Operation Eagle ClawOperation Eagle Claw was a United States military operation that attempted to rescue 52 American hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 24, 1980. The attempt was aborted when three helicopters that were part of the operation were damaged or forced to return to the carrier USS...
, it was determined that the US Army lacked aircraft and crews who were trained and prepared to perform special operations missions. (Marine pilots and Navy helicopters were used.) To remedy this shortcoming, the Army began developing a special aviation task force to prepare for the next attempt to rescue the hostages: Operation Honey Badger.
Task Force 160
The architects of the task force identified the need for a small helicopter to land in the most restrictive locations and could be easily transported on Air Force airlifters. They chose the OH-6A scout helicopter, and it became known as the
Little Bird compared to the other aircraft in the task force, the UH-60A and the CH-47C. As a separate part of the project, armed OH-6As were being developed at
Fort RuckerFort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...
, Alabama.
The pilots selected to fly the OH-6A helicopters came from the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion and were sent to the Mississippi Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at Gulfport, Mississippi, for two weeks of qualification training in the aircraft. When the training was completed,
C-141The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
aircraft transported the aircraft and crews to
Fort HuachucaFort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico. Sierra Vista, which annexed the fort in 1971, is located south and...
, Arizona, for two weeks of mission training. The mission training consisted of loading onto
C-130The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. Capable of takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft...
transport aircraft which would then transport them to forward staging areas over routes as long as . The armed OH-6 aircraft from Fort Rucker joined the training program in the fall of 1980.
Operation Honey Badger was canceled after the hostages were released on 20 January 1981, and for a short while, it looked as if the task force would be disbanded and the personnel returned to their former units. But the Army decided that it would be more prudent to keep the unit. The task force, which had been designated Task Force 158, was soon formed into the 160th Aviation Battalion. The OH-6A helicopters used for transporting personnel became the MH-6 aircraft of the Light Assault Company and the armed OH-6As became the AH-6 aircraft of the Light Attack Company.
Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada)
The OH-6s of 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were some of the first to see action in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury. A/MH-6 Little Birds were used during the 1983 invasion of Grenada to evacuate casualties onto Navy ship decks. The existence of the unit became widely known in the aftermath of the October 1983 invasion of Grenada, as OH-6s helicopters were seen supporting Special Operations during this operation.DoD and the US Army denied A/MH-6s were used in the operation despite amateur video going public showing the helicopters in action.
The OH-6s were flown in USAF C-130 transport planes, two-at-a-time, to nearby Barbados. From there they flew to Grenada.
Nicaragua
By 1983 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and its helicopters were heavily committed to supporting the contras, a United States-subsidized military force. In this task also took part specially adapted Hughes 500Ds unmarked helicopters from CIA Seaspray unit, based in Fort Eustis.
MH-6s were based in Palmerola Air Base, Honduras, and flew missions into Nicaragua. The unit members wore civilian clothes, flew by night, and were instructed to destroy their aircraft if they were forced down.
Operation Prime Chance
On 24 July 1987, a Kuwaiti oil tanker, reflagged as the
BridgetonMV Bridgeton, ex-al-Rekkah, was a Kuwait Oil Company oil tanker that was reflagged during Operation Earnest Will. Bridgeton was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki and was launched August 14 1976. The tanker was built as al-Rekkah, renamed Bridgeton and scrapped as Pacific Blue...
and escorted by U.S. Navy warships, struck a mine in the
Persian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf by most Arab states or simply The...
. It became apparent that more than escort ships would be required to guard merchant ships. The U.S. military deployed the MH-6 and AH-6 aircraft from the 160th Aviation Battalion to provide surveillance and patrols in cooperation with other U.S. special operations units in
Operation Prime ChanceOperation Prime Chance was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S.-flagged oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation took place roughly at the same time as Operation Earnest Will , the largely Navy effort to escort the tankers...
.
Two MH-6 and four AH-6 aircraft were initially deployed and designated as Detachment 160 Aviation Group (DET 160 AVGP). The MH-6 aircraft carried Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) and a videotape system which gave them excellent ability to detect and identify targets, then direct the armed AH-6s. The AH-6 helicopters were armed with
7.62 minigunsThe Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
and
2.75-inch rocketsThe Hydra 70 rocket is a weapon derived from the 2.75 inch "Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket" developed by the U.S...
. Initially, the aircraft patrolled in teams (call sign "
SEABAT") that waited for U.S. Navy
SH-2sThe Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against several types of enemy threats, including submarines of all types,...
to direct them to the targets. Later, to preserve the aircraft and crews from fatigue and wear, the SEABAT teams remained on the ship's deck until a contact was identified.
At 10 p.m. on 21 September 1987, the captain of the USS Jarrett launched a SEABAT team (a MH-6 and two AH-6s) to check out reports of Iranian minelaying. The team found the
Iran AjrIran Ajr, formerly known as the Arya Rakhsh, was a Japanese-built landing craft used by Iran to lay naval mines during the Iran–Iraq War...
, an amphibious landing ship equipped with minelaying racks. The MH-6 confirmed that the
Iran Ajr was laying mines, the AH-6s opened fire, causing the crew to abandon ship. The vessel was subsequently boarded and captured.
On the evening of 8 October 1987, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Boghammar and two
Boston WhalerBoston Whaler, or just "Whaler," is a brand of motorboat manufactured in the United States. Classically, a Whaler is characterized by a foam-cored fiberglass hull , with an outboard motor and center steering console. They are manufactured by Boston Whaler, Inc.The original 13 foot Whaler hull...
boats were detected by an SH-2. The SEABAT team was launched and as the MH-6 drew near to investigate, the Boghammar opened fire, the first of a series of engagements by both AH-6s and the MH-6 (recently armed with a minigun). The Boghammar launched two
StingerThe FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...
missiles at the helicopters, but eventually all three boats were sunk.
For the remainder of the operation, it was decided that barges set up as mobile sea bases (MSB) would facilitate the operation of the special operations forces. The Hercules and the Wimbrown VII were leased to provide these bases and the SEABAT teams began operating from the barges.
In early 1988, it was decided that modified U.S. Army OH-58D helicopters, fitted with weapons, would replace the SEABAT teams. On 24 February 1988, a team of two AHIP helicopters replaced the SEABAT team on the Wimbrown VII but it would be several months (June 1988) before the SEABAT team aboard the barge Hercules would be relieved by another AHIP detachment.
Operation Just Cause
On 17 December 1989, 9 MH-6s, 11 AH-6G/Js, 19 UH/MH-60As were flown by Air Force
C-5 GalaxyThe Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large, military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It was designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances and to carry outsize and oversize cargo...
airlifters to Howard AFB's Hangar 3. After dark, on 19 December, the aircraft were rolled out to prepare for Operation Just Cause.
Before the main invasion force arrived in
Panama CityPanama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 813,097, with a total metro population of 1,206,792, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, at...
,
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
, two MH-6s supported by two AH-6s landed at Torrijos-Tocumen Airport to insert a beacon and combat controllers. Four other AH-6s conducted pre-assault attacks on the
Panamanian Defense ForcePanama is the second country in Latin America to permanently abolish standing armies. This came as a result of a US invasion that overthrew a military dictatorship which ruled the country from 1968 to 1989...
(PDF) Headquarters,
La Comandancia, adjoining the heavily populated
El Chorrillo neighborhood in downtown
Panama CityPanama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 813,097, with a total metro population of 1,206,792, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, at...
. One of the AH-6s was damaged by ground fire and crashlanded in the Comandancia compound. The two pilots, pinned down by small-arms fire for two hours, eventually made their way back to friendly forces, taking a PDF soldier prisoner along the way.
Other AH-6s escorted MH-6s on a rooftop rescue operation conducted at
Cárcel Modelo, a prison adjacent to La Comandancia. In
Operation Acid GambitOperation Acid Gambit was a plan to retrieve Kurt Muse, an American civilian living in Panama and widely reported to be a CIA operative from the Carcel Modelo, a notorious prison in Panama City...
, the aircraft approached the prison. Under fire from a nearby apartment house, the Little Birds landed on the roof, dropped off the rescue team, and lifted off. Upon their return, heavy smoke made it tough to find the roof and the helicopters took heavy fire from a cellblock about 50 to from the landing site. Maj. Richard Bowman, a copilot, took a round in the elbow. His pilot took over the controls and landed the aircraft. The aircraft picked up the rescue personnel and headed back toward Howard AFB. But one MH-6 lost power as it left the roof, and crashed in the street below with minor injuries to the passengers, who were helped from the crash site by U.S. infantry soldiers.
Elsewhere, four AH-6s provided fire support for the airborne assault at Rio Hato Airfield, supported by an MH-60 which operated as a Forward Arming and Refuel Point (FARP). Two nine-man teams from the 160th participated in the airborne assaults of Torrijos-Tocumen Airfield and Rio Hato Airfield, and were dropped from Air Force C-141s to set up FARPs, platforms with HE-rocket and minigun ammunition, parts and replacements for the miniguns, and fuel and refueling pumps, hoses, etc. But the FARP dropped at Rio Hato landed out of reach in a marsh, forcing the team to “wet wing” refuel from the MH-60.
The Rio Hato mission originally included nine other MH-60s and four MH-6s. Several hours prior to H-hour, these aircraft and crews were instead sent to support a raid near
Colon, PanamaColón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, a key PDF stronghold where PDF leaders were believed to be. At H-hour, the helicopters conducted an air assault on a beach house along the coast of Colon. It was during this mission that the first 160th soldiers to die in combat perished when their AH-6 was shot down.
Another force of eight MH-60s and four MH-6s were on strip alert to conduct follow-on raids should the need arise.
After these initial missions, elements of the 160th provided support to special operations forces securing outlying areas, recovering weapons caches, and "hunt for Elvis" — the phrase the men of the 160th used to refer to the search for General
Manuel NoriegaManuel Antonio Noriega is a former general and the military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.He was never, contrary to popular belief, officially the president of Panama, but held the post of "chief executive officer" for a brief period in 1989...
. Four MH-60s, two MH-6s, two AH-6s, and two MH-47s were moved to Ft. Sherman in the north for operations in and around Colon.
The 160th conducted numerous air assault missions over the next two weeks, and on 3 January 1990, the majority of the force went back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Operation Gothic Serpent
MH-6 Little Birds were part of the initial assault on the Olympic Hotel in the Bakara Market of
MogadishuMogadishu is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital.Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
,
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
. The MH-6s conducted rooftop insertions of
Delta ForceThe 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta — commonly known as Delta, Delta Force or the Combat Applications Group by the United States Department of Defense, is an elite Special Operations Force and an integral element of the Joint Special Operations Command...
soldiers.
After the shootdown of the MH-60A, call sign "Super 61", by an RPG, an MH-6 Little Bird, call sign "Star 41", piloted by CW4 Keith Jones and CW3 Karl Maier, landed in the street next to the downed MH-60 and attempted to evacuate the casualties. Jones went to assist survivors, successfully pulling two soldiers into the Little Bird, while Maier laid down suppressive fire from the cockpit with his individual weapon. Under intense ground fire, the MH-6 departed with its crew and survivors.
During the night, AH-6J gunships provided fire support to Rangers and Delta Force operators who were in defensive positions around the crash site of "Super 61" and under constant fire from Warlord Mohammad Farrah Aidid's militia members.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
During the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and during the stabilization efforts that carry on to this day, Little Bird pilots took in numerous missions. Two AH-6 and two MH-6 helicopters were part of a special operations raid at Al Qadisiyah in western Iraq.
AH-6 helicopters were also tasked with supporting the rescue mission of Private First Class Jessica Lynch in April 2003.
MH-6 helicopters were part of TF-145, as well as the rescue of three Italian contractors and Polish businessman taken hostage by Iraqi insurgents in 2004.
Operation Celestial Balance
In September 2009 two AH-6 helicopters were used in an operation in
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
by
U.S. Navy SEALsThe United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces, commonly known as the Navy SEALs, are the Special Operations Forces of the United States Navy, employed in direct action and special reconnaissance operations...
to kill wanted terrorist Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. The attack, which was launched from U.S. Navy ships, was authorized by President Barack Obama.
Variants
For OH-6 and TH-6 variants, see OH-6 Cayuse.
AH-6C
- Special Forces attack version. Modified OH-6A to carry weapons and operate as a light attack aircraft for the 160th SOAR(A)
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is a special operations unit of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for general purpose forces and Special Operations Forces. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and are usually conducted at...
.
EH-6E
- Special Forces electronic warfare, command-post version.
MH-6E :Improved attack helicopter used by US Army special forces units, and stealthy light attack and transport helicopter for US Army special forces units.
AH-6F
- Special Forces attack version.
AH-6G
- Special Forces attack version.
MH-6H
- Special Forces version.
AH/MH-6J
- Improved special forces transport and attack versions. Updated light attack helicopter based on the MD 530MG and equipped with an improved engine, FLIR, and a GPS/inertial navigation system.
AH/MH-6M
- Also occasionally referred to as the Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB), it is a highly modified version of the MD 530 series commercial helicopter.
A/MH-6XThe Boeing AH-6 is a series of light helicopters based on the MH-6 Little Bird and MD 500 family. Developed by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, these include the Unmanned Little Bird demonstrator, the A/MH-6X Mission Enhanced Little Bird , and the proposed AH-6I and AH-6S.-Development:The ULB...
- An AH/MH-6M MELB helicopter modified for use as a UAV. It builds upon experienced gained through development of the Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) Demonstrator, which is a civil MD 530F modified for autonomous UAV flight.
Specifications (MH-6)
The armed variant is equipped with a lightweight universal mounting platform which can accommodate two M134 miniguns, two M260 7-shot Hydra 70 rocket pods. Alternately, the AH-6 can be armed with Hellfire anti-tank missiles, air-to-air Stingers, Mk-19 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, or .50 caliber machine guns.
See also
Sources
- Harding Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0190-X.
External links