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Air Force)Īnother advantage of the exercise against the Hinds is that a few Moody pilots got to sit in the Mi-24s and see the fight unfold from the adversary’s cockpit, Little explained. (Airman 1st Class Courtney Sebastianelli / U.S. This week-long training was the first time the 41st RQS executed training air combat maneuvers with the HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter against an Mi-24 Hind. Christian Nault, 41st Rescue Squadron special missions aviator, prepares for an HH-60W Jolly Green II training flight in Lancaster, Texas, June 28, 2022. “We have our crew-served weapons, and while they’re not optimized for air-to-air, if it generates the effect of a Hind turning its nose and going away, approved,” McDonald said. Also, in a world where American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter pilots once dropped an air-to-ground bomb on an Iraqi helicopter, and where Ukrainian soldiers are reportedly shooting down Russian helicopters with anti-tank missiles, who’s to say American or enemy helicopter crews can’t adapt an air-to-ground weapon to try to shoot down another helicopter?

So how exactly does one go about battling a Hind? While it’s true most helicopters don’t carry air-to-air weapons, there’s nothing stopping China or Russia from trying it in the future, McDonald said.
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Unfortunately for McDonald, the admiral in charge of the operation depicted in the movie opted not to send in CSAR, but McDonald and his pilot colleagues are training for the moment when an admiral or other higher-up chooses differently. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II, from the 41st Rescue Squadron, conducts air combat maneuvers in the skies of Lancaster, Texas, June 29, 2022.
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military prepares to fight China or Russia in a possible future conflict, the Air Force combat rescue community is planning out how to rescue downed pilots or other friendly forces in coordination with its fixed-wing cousins in the rest of the Combat Air Force, many of whom can destroy enemy tanks, suppress enemy air defenses and chase away enemy fighters to clear the air space for a successful rescue mission.Ī U.S. Air Force)Ĭhange may be in the works, though. Air Force Airmen from the 41st Rescue Squadron examine an Mi-24 Hind during training in Lancaster, Texas, June 27, 2022. That’s evident in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where as of last month Russia has reportedly lost nearly 200 helicopters to enemy fire, according to Business Insider.
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With the prevalence of portable surface-to-air missile systems and other anti-air threats, helicopter crews may be more likely to face threats from the ground than from fellow helicopters, Nolan pointed out. The Air Force will still buy 75 60Ws in total though, and those pilots may face Hinds someday. With a longer range and better sensors, the 60W is the replacement for the 60G, though a recent decision by the Air Force to cut back on buying the new helicopter has raised eyebrows across the search and rescue community. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II in front of an Mi-24 Hind helicopter while conducting air combat maneuvers in the skies of Lancaster, Texas, J(Screenshot via video by Airman 1st Class Courtney Sebastianelli / U.S. However, the recent exercise with the Moody-based 41st Rescue Squadron is the first time the new HH-60W Jolly Green II has faced off against the so-called ‘Flying Tank.’ Airmen with the 41st Rescue Squadron fly a U.S. The Pave Hawks are a variant of the Army Black Hawk helicopter that is specifically tasked with combat search and rescue and personnel recovery missions. For example, in 2019 pilots from the 55th Rescue Squadron based in Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, practiced flying against the gunships in their HH-60G Pave Hawks. The Air Force has put on similar exercises against Mi-24s in the past.
