Legendary Pave Hawk Helicopter Takes Its Closing US Air Force Flight

While the United States Army is well known for its massive fleet of helicopters, it is hardly the one department that operates them. Though it is best identified for its fixed-wing plane, the U.S. Air Force additionally makes use of helicopters. One of the U.S. military’s oldest helicopters has lastly reached its retirement, because the legendary HH-60G Pave Hawk made its remaining flight on September 10, 2026. The momentous event comes greater than three a long time after the Pave Hawk entered the Air Force stock, and it has been busy all through that point.

The Pave Hawk started its army operations in 1982 as one of many many derivatives of the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Like its Army cousin, the chopper has been utilized for varied missions, although it performed a key position in fight search and rescue (CSAR), which it carried out in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s additionally been utilized by varied Air National Guard models for catastrophe aid, civilian rescue operations, and extra, so the Pave Hawk grew to become synonymous with bringing folks house, whether or not they’re civilians or U.S. army personnel.

The remaining HH-60G Pave Hawk ended its lengthy interval of lively service for California’s Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing. As the final plane within the line, the ultimate flight was an essential event, as folks gathered to point out appreciation to the helicopter that rescued so many individuals since its introduction. The 129th Rescue Wing is credited with saving 1,190 lives, most of which occurred because of the Pave Hawk and the courageous women and men who repeatedly flew them into harmful areas.

The Pave Hawk is one of many helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky, which additionally produces the HH-60W Jolly Green II. It’s a extra superior, newer fight rescue helicopter. The 512th Rescue Squadron out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, in addition to the thirty eighth and forty first Rescue Squadrons out of Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, have been the primary models to obtain the brand new chopper in 2020. While the brand new plane is much like its predecessor, the Jolly Green II has some improved specs concerning efficiency metrics, although it is barely slower.

The HH-60W has a service ceiling of 20,000 toes and a variety of 690 miles, whereas its high velocity is 176 mph. It can also be equally armed, and it boasts a bigger operational weight of twenty-two,500 lbs. The Jolly Green II additionally options a number of built-in mission techniques that help CSAR operations, together with a digital radar warning receiver, laser, hostile hearth warning system, built-in air defenses, and extra.