Stealth helicopter
Encyclopedia
Stealth helicopters are helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s that incorporate stealth technology
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...

 to avoid detection. In recent years, designs for blades have emerged that can significantly reduce the noise, which is a major issue for clandestine use of helicopters. A raid on the compound of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

 in May 2011 utilized what appeared to be two Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System competition in 1972...

s, heavily modified for quieter operations and employing stealth technology to be less visible to radar.

Examples

While there are no officially operating helicopters that fit this description, there are a few that have been retired, rumored, or canceled:
  • A modified Hughes 500P (1972), nicknamed "The Quiet One" had reduced noise operation capability and was used once by the CIA during the Vietnam War
    Vietnam War
    The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

     to deploy a wiretap.
  • The Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche (1996-2004) was a prototype stealth helicopter, cancelled due to escalating costs before it became operational.
  • A previously-unseen modified Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is believed to have been used in the operation
    Death of Osama bin Laden
    Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....

     that killed Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011. The aircraft seemed to include features like special high-tech materials, harsh angles and flat surfaces, previously found only on sophisticated stealth jets
    Stealth aircraft
    Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to avoid detection by employing a combination of features to interfere with radar as well as reduce visibility in the infrared, visual, audio, and radio frequency spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during...

    .
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