Tag Archives: uh-60

Government Shenanigans: UH-60 for Afghanistan, killed-off by the Mil 17, U.S. taxpayers raped twice?

Video October 31, 2020 Hutchins AAron

31 October 2020 / 03:21 (UTC-07 Tango 06)/ 10
Aban 1399/14 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1442/15 Bing-Xu(9th month) 4718

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sean Martin, 05NOV2017.

Begun under the Barack Obama administration, the UH-60A program for Afghanistan is now drastically scaled back under the Donald Trump administration, due to lack of the Black Hawk’s performance in Afghanistan, a shift in priorities within the U.S. Department of Defense, and the high cost to U.S. taxpayers.

A former U.S. Army Black Hawk is loaded onto a C-17 transport, bound for Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Adriane Elliot, 15SEP2017.

September 2017, the first batch of UH-60As for Afghanistan are unloaded from a C-17 Globemaster-3, at Kandahar Air Field.

Photo by Staff Sergeant Trevor McBride.

Video by Senior Airmen Ryan Green, UH-60A flight training, November 2017:

By December 2017, a small group of six Afghan Mil 17 pilots became qualified to fly the UH-60A+.

Photo by Staff Sergeant Jared Duhon.

By February 2018, the Afghan Air Force had eight UH-60 Blackhawks.

By March 2018, U.S. military officials were boasting the UH-60 program was “mission ready”. Video of more flight training by John Roberts:

USA photo by Major Richard Barker, 06MAY2018.

By May 2018, the first large class of Afghan UH-60A crews had completed the Mission Qualification Course (MQC). Video by Jackie Faye showing Afghan UH-60s taking off on their first official mission one day after the MQC graduation:

In June 2018, The U.S. Special Inspector General For Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) criticized the UH-60 program for Afghanistan saying “They are unable to accommodate some of the larger cargo items the Mi-17s can carry, and in general, it takes almost two Black Hawks to carry the load of a single Mi-17. Furthermore, unlike Mi-17s, Black Hawks cannot fly at high elevations and, as such, cannot operate in remote regions of Afghanistan where Mi-17s operate.”

A Train, Advise and Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) explainer video by Staff Sergeant Rion Ehrman, with overly dramatic music, July 2018:

Photo by Sergeant Luke Hoogendam.

July 2018 MedEvac (medical evacuation) training, now known as CasEvac (casualty evacuation).

Photo by Staff Sergeant Clayton Cupit.

By December 2018, U.S. TAAC-Air contractors continued to train Afghan personnel on the UH-60A.

In February 2019, SIGAR warned that the $7-billion U.S. taxpayer funded program to replace Afghanistan’s Russian built helicopters with U.S. made helicopters (first proposed in 2014, mainly using the UH-60A+) was flawed because “DOD does not currently have a maintenance training course in place to train Afghan personnel to maintain UH-60s. Having insufficient Afghan maintenance personnel limits the locations at which UH-60s can operate because DOD policy bars U.S. contractors from working where there is no U.S. or Coalition control due to security concerns.”

Another former USA UH-60 Black Hawk bound for Afghanistan, this time on 25APR2019, transported by Ukrainian An-124 transport. USA photo by Richard Bumgardner.

In January 2020, the Military Times reported “The U.S. military is reducing the number of UH-60 Black Hawks it plans to provide Afghan forces from 159 to just 53…..”, ostensibly because the U.S. Department of Defense no longer considers Afghanistan a priority.

September 2020, the Financial Express explains the reasons why ‘Afghan Military to stick to Russian-made Helocraft’, saying the Obama era program to rely mainly on UH-60s to replace proven Russian technology was “primarily driven by political concern”.

Don’t worry all you happy U.S. taxpayers, you paid for those Russian made ‘Hip’ helicopters as well, to the tune of $15-million each!

Zombie ‘Copter: HOW THE HIND RETURNED TO AFGHANISTAN (with the help of U.S./NATO), AND WHY IT WON’T DIE

Afghanistan: MIL 17 CRASH & BURN

MAINTAINING SATAN’S CHARIOT

MD-530 Cayuse Warrior

Technology, U.S.

National Guard teaching a baby three horned dinosaur to fly?

Video September 13, 2020 Hutchins AAron

13 September 2020 / 04:18 (UTC-07 Tango 06)/ 23 Shahrivar 1399/25 Muharram 1442/26 Yi-You 4718

National Guard photos by Second Lieutenant Anna Doo and Sergeant John Montoya. Videos by Second Lieutenant Anna Doo and Sergeant Zechariah Freeman. Dig photos via New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Image

In October 2015, the New Mexico Army National Guard was called-up for a mission unlike any other; sling-load a 65-million years old baby Pentaceratops out of the desert: “This ranks very high in the importance of Pentaceratops discoveries because it is the first baby skeleton, including the skull, ever recovered, and one of less than 10 adult Pentaceratops skulls unearthed.”-Spencer Lucas, Chief Curator of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

The baby three horned dinosaur was actually discovered back in 2011, in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area south of Farmington. In 2013, an adult was found in the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Study Area, 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. The paleontologists had a problem; no wheeled vehicles are allowed in those federally controlled areas, and once encased in protective plaster, the two dinosaur skeletons could weight as much as one U.S. ton.

In 2014, administrators with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, New Mexico National Guard, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, agreed to airlift the bones using UH-60 Blackhawks from New Mexico National Guard’s Company C, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation.

It took four hours to position just the encased baby skeleton for sling-load by the Blackhawk: “The process, since it was an unconventional load, took some different planning. We had the right personnel here and were able to brainstorm together. There was never really a set way that we had. We knew once we got in there we’d take a look at everything and figure out the best option. My favorite part was getting the jackets onto the sling loads. That was something we hadn’t had experience with and we knew it was going to be a difficult process. That was our biggest hurdle. Once we got past that we knew we had the capability to do everything else that we needed to.”-Staff Sergeant Jonathon Velarde, 1st Battalion-200th Infantry, National Guard site leader at the Bisti location

But when the day came for the airlift, it was discovered that the plaster surrounding the baby and adult Pentaceratops skeletons were water damaged from recent rain storms and could not be airlifted, only the skulls could be sling-loaded. However, it was soon discovered that the plaster jacketed skulls were much heavier than estimated. The Blackhawk crew trying to lift the adult skull reported it weighed 5-thousand-5-hundred pounds (2494.8 kilograms) and the UH-60 was not able to safely lift it. The jacketed baby skull weighed 4-thousand-5-hundred pounds (2041 kilograms), more than twice the estimate.

To make the lift the Blackhawk helicopters flew around burning off expensive fuel to lighten themselves. Keep in mind that the National Guard personnel on the ground, heaving the heavy skulls into positions, even pushing one uphill, were unaware that they were dealing with weights that were more than twice what they were expecting.

Video, baby skull flip:

Apparently it took two days (28-29OCT2015) of struggling to position the two skulls for sling-load.

Video, adult skull flip:

Video interview, Staff Sergeant Jonathon Velarde explains the proper positioning of the sling-load net:

Video, skull lift:

Video, incoming skull:

The skulls were flown out of the ground vehicle restricted areas to a location where a M984 HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) was waiting to take them to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science: “The mission went really well and it was good training for the traditional Soldiers. The mission was accomplished and everyone was safe. We were able to really show the capabilities of the National Guard as far as our air assets, the Infantry piece as far as them having to go out there and rig it, and our transportation assets as far as being able to move it, as well as working with the civilians and the general public.”-First Lieutenant Jerome Bustamante, 116th Transportation Company, New Mexico National Guard

HEMTT dino-load video:

The skulls are part of dinosaur displays at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, unfortunately the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs used the CoViD-19 fear-mongering to shutdown all taxpayer funded museums in New Mexico, until further notice.

Just before the CoViD-19 BS started: BLACK HELICOPTERS SWARM SUPER BOWL-54

IDAHO BLACKHAWKS HEAD SOUTH, DOWN CENTRAL AMERICA WAY, YOU PAID FOR IT!

U.S. government shenanigans, January 2019: MULTI-AGENCY SUPER SURGE

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Russian/Ukrainian Aircraft in U.S. service?

Video April 12, 2020 Hutchins AAron

The Antonov Design Bureau (founded by Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov in 1946) was originally based in Russia, but officially moved to Ukraine in 1952.

June 2022, photo via Antonov Company.

In 2022, a Ukrainian Ruslan was used to transport NATO Turkey’s Turksat 5B from NATO France to NATO United States, for launch on the controversial SpaceX platform.

Photo via Antonov Company.

In June 2021, a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan transported several Black Hawk helicopters from NATO Poland to The Philippines.

U.S. Army photo by Richard Bumgardner, 26APR2019.

Two UH-60 Black Hawks bound for Afghanistan about to be eaten by a Russian An-124 in Huntsville, Alabama, 26APR2019.

USA photo by Richard Bumgardner, 26APR2019.

U.S. Air Force video, by Staff Sergeant Bethany La Ville, November 2018 Super Typhoon Yutu relief in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the Ukrainian operated An-124 was contracted by U.S. Air Force):

Video, October 2017, Russian operated An-124 delivers disaster relief equipment to Puerto Rico, paid for by U.S. taxpayers:

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Brooke Deiters, 01AUG2016.

U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan, August 2016.

USMC photo by Lance Corporal Brooke Deiters, 02AUG2016.

Russian operated An-124 takes-off from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan, August 2016.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Richard Andrade, 22OCT2013.

October 2013, Russian operated An-124 delivers U.S. taxpayer funded Russian made Mil-17V-5 Hip helicopter to the Afghan military, in Kabul.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Kevin Jones, 09JUL2013.

A large U.S. Marine CH-53E Super Stallion inside the belly of the An-124 beast, July 2013.

USMC video, by Corporal Jeffrey Scarmazzi, 11JUL2013, U.S. Marines on Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, load UH-1Y Venoms into a contracted An-124:

USMC photo by Lance Corporal Natalie M. Rostran, 17JUN2013.

U.S. Marines CH-46E Sea Knight off-load at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan, June 2013.

USA photo by Sergeant D. Brennan, 07FEB2013.

February 2013, U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter is fed into the An-124 Condor at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.

At least three OH-58Ds. USA photo by Sergeant D. Brennan, 07FEB2013.

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Krystal Wright, 30JUN2012.

Russian operated An-124 gets an MRAP suppository at Shaw Air Force Base (AFB), South Carolina, June 2012.

USAF photo by Airman 1st Class Krystal Wright, 30JUN2012.

Now a satellite up-link suppository, all destined for U.S. Forces Korea.

USMC photo by Mitch Moore, 05OCT2011.

Joint Operating Base Bastion, Afghanistan, An-124 delivers mobile medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine, October 2011.

USAF photo by Sergeant Anderson J. Grant, 21MAY2011.

The U.S. Air Force even showed-off the Ruslan at a public air show on Shaw AFB, May 2011.

USAF photo by Captain Erick Saks, 06MAY2011.

May 2011, An-124 delivers Rough Terrain Container Handler (RTCH) to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.

Photo by Jerome Bishop, 01DEC2005.

Pope Air Force Base , North Carolina, December 2005. Russian contracted An-124 eats a UH-60 Black Hawk, for delivery to Egypt.

At least four UH-60s. Photo by Jerome Bishop, 01DEC2005.

Operation CoViD-19: Video of An-124 used for NATO CoViD supply operations in Slovakia

2016:

USMC photo by Corporal Nathan Wicks, 02AUG2016.

Russian An-124 DELIVERS KC-130J SIMULATOR TO U.S. MARINES IN JAPAN!

Technology

Wash your Hawk!

Image March 29, 2020 Hutchins AAron

USS Detroit (LCS 7), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, MH-60S ‘Knight’ Hawk, somewhere in the Caribbean, March 2020.

USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49, MH-60R Sea Hawk, somewhere in the Indo-Pacific, February 2020.

Washing your Hawk not only keeps dust-n-dirt from building up, it prevents corrosion.

Charlie Company, 2-238th General Aviation Support Battalion (Medevac), UH-60 Black Hawk, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, November 2019.

USS Bataan (LHD 5), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, MH-60S ‘Knight’ Hawk, somewhere in the Atlantic, November 2019.

31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 56th Helicopter Maintenance Unit, HH-60G Pave Hawk, Aviano Air Base, Italy, October 2019.

Picky, picky, picky. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, September 2019.

Cleaning up after cleaning up, 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment, New Jersey Army National Guard, July 2019.

Don’t forget to brush your teeth!

USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, MH-60R Sea Hawk, somewhere in the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet ‘areas of responsibility’, April 2019.

USS Nitze (DDG 94), Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, MH-60R Sea Hawk, somewhere in the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet ‘areas of responsibility’, April 2019.

Wipe that ass!

USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14, MH-60S ‘Knight’ Hawk, somewhere in Philippine Sea, November 2018.

41st Helicopter Maintenance Unit, HH-60G Pave Hawk, Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, February 2018. USAF requires helicopter wash every 180 days.

BLACK HAWKS SWARM SUPER BOWL-54

IDAHO BLACK HAWKS HEAD SOUTH, DOWN CENTRAL AMERICA WAY

BLADE FOLDING ARMY BLACK HAWKS

VEHICLE I-D: BLACK HAWK WITH SKIS

VEHICLE ID: NEW HH-60M BLACK HAWK FOR HAWAIIAN MILITIA MEDEVAC

U.S.

Black helicopters swarm Super Bowl-54

Video January 28, 2020 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo by Ozzy Trevino, 23JAN2020.

Since at least 23JAN2020, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations, Miami-Dade Police, and other government agencies have been training-up for Super Bowl-54. Every year so much taxpayer funded security is heaped upon the Super Bowl you might as well put the military in charge of the NFL.

U.S. CBP photo by Ozzy Trevino, 23JAN2020.

Among the assets being used are the CBP’s black and gold UH-60 Black Hawks, oh, and their little AS350 A-Star ‘copters. CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

U.S. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser, 27JAN2020.

CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

U.S. CBP photo by Ozzy Trevino, 29JAN2020.

CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

CBP video by Jerry Glaser, 27JAN2020:

VEHICLE I-D: CBP’S BLACK HELICOPTERS DEPLOY TO PUERTO RICO, QUICK MINICRAFT KIT REVIEW

BLADE FOLDING ARMY BLACK HAWKS

U.S.

Red Bank & South Fire helicopter ops

Video September 15, 2019 Hutchins AAron

During the second week of September, 2019, California National Guard flew at least 290 firefighters to the Red Bank Fire and the South Fire, which are burning in rugged terrain.

Video California National Guard CH-47 Chinook ferries fire fighters to the Red Bank Fire in Tehama County:

Official video explainer of UH-60 and CH-47 operations:

Firefighters work 24 hour-shifts, here’s video of Black Hawks bringing back tired fire crews:

The UH-60s and CH-47s also played water bombers. In just one day, 10 September, they dropped 70-thousand-974 gallons of water just on the South Fire!

Video, UH-60M water bombing:

Daily maintenance was conducted on the six California National Guard helicopters assigned to help fight the Red Bank and South fires.

IDAHO WILD FIRES 2019: MD-87 WATER BOMBER, NEW KING AIR FAC

OREGON WILDFIRES: MILITIAS LOVE IT, CH-47F AIRBORNE FIREFIGHTER!

Technology

Blade folding Army Black Hawks

Video September 15, 2019 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Sharon Matthias, 10SEP2019.

Video, folding UH-60 blades for loading onto C-17 Globemaster, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 09SEP2019:

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Sharon Matthias, 10SEP2019.

Video, UH-60 blade folding for loading onto boats, Kuwait, 27APR2019:

Idaho blade folding: IDAHO BLACK HAWKS HEAD SOUTH, DOWN CENTRAL AMERICA WAY, YOU PAID FOR IT!

VEHICLE I-D: CBP’S BLACK HELICOPTERS DEPLOY TO PUERTO RICO, QUICK MINICRAFT REVIEW

MILITIA UH-60L LOOSES WINDSHIELD AT NTC!

SOUTH CAROLINA MILITIA’S SWITCH-BLADE APACHE

Technology

Dorian more powerful than U.S. military aircraft?

Video September 2, 2019 Hutchins AAron

02SEP2019, U.S. Coast Guard deploys C-130s in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian.

Evacuation of E-8C J-STARS from Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, 02SEP2019:

On 01SEP2019, U.S. Customs & Border Protection transferred one of their UH-60 Black Hawks from Puerto Rico to Homestead, Florida, to be used in hurricane rescue operations:

U.S. CBP also deployed P-3 Orions to Homestead, Florida, 31AUG2019.

Florida National Guard helicopters staged in the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian, 01SEP2019.

MH-60R Sea Hawks assigned to USN’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 48, in Florida, were sent to Maxwell Air Force Base, in Alabama, to escape the wrath of Dorian, 01SEP2019.

Video of preparations to exodus Naval Air Station Jacksonville:

Video of arrival at Maxwell AFB:

On 30AUG2019, Florida National Guard F-15C/D Eagles evacuated to Ohio. Video of arrival of Florida Eagles at Wright-Patterson AFB:

A USN Patrol Squadron 26 P-8 Poseidon arrives at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 30AUG2019.

30AUG2019, USN’s Patrol Squadron 10 evacuates P-8 Poseidon from NAS Jacksonville:

On 30AUG2019, Little Rock Air Force Base, Alabama, began accepting military aircraft from locations within the projected path of Hurricane Dorian:

HC-130 Combat King from Georgia.

A-10C Thunderbolt-2s from Georgia.

At Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, A-29 Super Tacanos were locked down in the hangers:

29AUG2019, KC-135Rs evacuate MacDill Air Force Base, Florida:

WC-130J & WP-3D: HUNTING DORIAN

SLOW DISASTER RELIEF: FLORIDA MILITIA DISCOVERS A MAJOR CAUSE, NEW PREPS FOR HURRICANES!

ALABAMA MILITIA PREPS FOR HURRICANE USING WORLD’S LARGEST MAP OF ALABAMA!

Kit Bashing, Technology

Hurricane Maria Vehicle I-D: CBP’s Black helicopters deploy to Puerto Rico, quick Minicraft kit review

Video August 10, 2019 Hutchins AAron

In Arizona, awaiting night time load-up into C-5 Galaxy, destine for Puerto Rico. Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 01OCT2017.

Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 02OCT2017.

C-5 delivers the CBP UH-60s to Puerto Rico. Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 02OCT2017.

Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 03OCT2017.

Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 07OCT2017.

Photo via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 13OCT2017.

Minicraft first issued its 1:48 scale UH-60 kits in 1986. In 2001, Minicraft re-boxed it as a U.S. Customs Black Hawk. The box art, and even photos of completed kit on the sides of the box, depict it with a FLIR pod under the chin, but no such animal can be found on the sprues. All you get is a crappy looking search light. I’ll have to scratch build the FLIR, or steal it from a different helicopter kit. Many of the Customs Black Hawks have the bent tip rotary wings, the Minicraft kit still has the straight blades from the 1980s. The Minicraft markings are for U.S. Customs, which ceased to exist as an independent agency in 2003, merged with U.S. Border Patrol, and parts of Immigration and Naturalization Service, becoming today’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As you can see from the photos above, the CBP markings are slightly different from the old U.S. Customs markings, and today’s Black Hawk has an extended nose for housing the FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) as well as mounts on the side of the cockpit for other electronic gadgets. The interior of the Minicraft UH-60 is devoid of details, but can be expeditiously improved using the old-but-gold Monogram crew figures from the still viable Monogram UH-1 Huey (interesting that the Monogram ‘copter first issued in 1959 is more detailed than the Minicraft ‘copter first issued in 1986).

PJ Production also has a new resin set of 1:48 U.S. helicopter crew figures, although they’re sold as Vietnam era crew figures I think they could be used for late Cold War Black Hawks.

IDAHO BLACK HAWKS HEAD SOUTH, DOWN CENTRAL AMERICA WAY, YOU PAID FOR IT!

VEHICLE I-D: BLACK HAWK WITH SKIS

RF-84F THUNDERFLASH & YRF-84F, AN APPEAL TO MONOGRAM!

Idaho

Idaho Black Hawks head south, down Central America way, you paid for it!

Video August 9, 2019 Hutchins AAron

“We are going to have to stop being the policemen of the world.”-Donald Trump, August 2015 interview with Hugh Hewitt

Idaho Army National Guard photo by Thomas Alvarez, 27APR2019.

At the end of April 2019, Idaho Army National Guard’s 1-183rd Assault Helicopter Battalion deployed to Guatemala in support of operation Beyond the Horizon.

Idaho Army National Guard photo by Thomas Alvarez, 27APR2019.

Keep in mind this is the Central American country allegedly sending the most illegals into the U.S., forcing the U.S. President to make a deal with the leaders of Guatemala to make an effort to keep their people home (never mind that the U.S. Department of Defense spends untold tax dollars conducting massive military and natural disaster training ops in Guatemala).

Idaho Army National Guard photo by Thomas Alvarez, 27APR2019.

1-183rd Assault Helicopter Battalion will provide casualty evacuation support and equipment transportation for National Guard engineers and medics as they spend U.S. taxes building schools and medical clinics in Guatemala.