Air crews of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are currently receiving the latest version of the Boeing Chinook at a rate of two per month from the Philadelphia production line. Designated the MH-47G heavy assault aircraft, this ultimate battle ready transport has evolved to complement the mission needs of the Army’s Special Ops. While the G-model has its foundation in a standard Chinook, it is more versatile and equipped with a range of features designed for duty in Special Operations. Today, the MH-47G is the most advanced heavy-lift helicopter in service.

After the failed Desert One hostage rescue attempt in Iran, the Army established a special aviation operations unit. Organized to execute complex, highly-critical missions, Task Force 160—the Night Stalkers—was created with a focus on secret and sensitive missions. TF-160, now called the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) required a helicopter designed to meet its multi-mission requirements. In addition to conducting overt and clandestine infiltrations, exfiltrations, assault missions, Special Ops air crews perform resupply and sling load operations in any climate or weather. Their assignments also include conducting shipboard, oil platform, urban, water and parachute operations, and they will serve as a forward aerial refueling point. Night Stalkers are also called upon to evacuate casualties and noncombatants and conduct combat search and rescue. In the early 1980s, Boeing produced the first generation of special ops aircraft, the MH-47D & MH-47E to meet those needs.

The MH-47 was equipped with a fast rope insertion/extraction system, and an external rescue hoist. The MH-47E provided crews with a variety of advanced features to expand mission capability. To improve performance in any weather, the aircraft had a digital cockpit with multifunctional displays and terrain-following, terrain-avoidance radar. This system integrated sensors and displays to manage and view aircraft performance and mission information. The MH-47E-model also contains the refueling probe and long-range 2068-gallon main fuel tanks.

In addition to the capabilities of earlier models, the new MH-47G features several upgrades that improve operations for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. G-models feature more powerful and efficient engines with improved avionics. The aircraft is equipped with a Rockwell-Collins adverse weather capable Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit, which provides an interface between flight crews and aircraft systems. CAAS provides control and display of flight data and system operation for navigation, guidance, flight director, and communication from multifunction displays. The aircraft has a fully-coupled autopilot, integrated multimode radar for nap-of-the-earth and low-level flight operations in the clouds, or in conditions of extremely poor visibility and adverse weather. Improved digital map display, greater situational awareness, mission planning and management capability enable flight crews to conduct missions with pinpoint accuracy.

Proof of the MH-47’s special operations prowess lies not in its capabilities, but in its use. In the first six months of the war on terror focused principally on Afghanistan, Night Stalkers and their Chinooks flew more than 200 combat missions totaling about 2,000 flight hours. Deploying initially from a neighboring country, Chinooks flew as high as 16,000 feet in the Hindu Kush, requiring crews to use oxygen systems in adverse weather conditions for as long as 15 hours. More than 70 of these missions, flown in Operation Enduring Freedom’s first three months, involved infiltration or removal of special operations troops behind enemy lines. The Night Stalkers lived up to their unit motto, “Night Stalkers Don’t Quit,” by contributing to the hasty collapse of the Taliban regime. Throughout the operation, the Night Stalkers maintained a brisk pace with a mission readiness rate in excess of 85 percent.

Air crews routinely praise the aircraft and its capabilities, and the new MH-47G undoubtedly will add to an already distinguished combat record for the aircraft. The G-model and fleet growth come none too soon, as the global campaign against terrorism clearly will continue for years.