This month the United States Air Force received the first two HH-60W Jolly Green II Combat Rescue helicopters. On November 5, the 23rd Wing and 347th Rescue Group received the newest combat rescue aircraft at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. 

Aircrews from the 41st Rescue Squadron out of Moody AFB and the 413th Flight Test Squadron and 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron, both at Duke Field, Florida, flew the aircraft from Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky Training Academy. 

The Air Force will acquire one hundred and thirteen of the HH-60Ws over the next several years, and these will replace the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk fleet, which is currently used in search-and-rescue operations for the U.S. military. The new helicopters have enhanced defense systems and vulnerability reduction, as well as improved hover performance, electrical capacity, weapons and cybersecurity. 

These capabilities will ensure that its crews are able to carry out their critical combat search-and-rescue missions and personnel recovery operations for all the U.S. military and its allies in contested and diverse environments. The HH-60W will be able to conduct day or night operations in hostile environments to recover isolated personnel during wartime, while it can be used in other military operations including civil search-and-rescue, medical evacuation disaster response, humanitarian assistance, security cooperation/aviation advisory, NASA space-flight support, and rescue command and control. 

In February Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, announced that it was awarded a second low-rate initial-production contract after flight tests of the rotary aircraft progressed. It was at the annual Air Force Association (AFA) Air Warfare Symposium that month that Barbara Barrett, the secretary of the Air Force, assigned the helicopter its proper name—Jolly Green II. 

“We respect the long tradition of assigning a moniker that communicates the CSAR mission. Jolly Green II is a fitting tribute to its history and to airmen and women worldwide,” said Dana Fiatarone, Sikorsky’s vice president, Army and Air Force Systems. “The name is greatly respected by our workforce—past and present—and it’s an honor to build this critical aircraft for the Air Force and bring it to the symposium today to provide our customer with the opportunity to view the Jolly Green II in person. We look forward to continued production and executing on the recent Lot 2 contract award.”

According to Lockheed Martin, the HH-60W also doubles the internal fuel capacity without the use of space-consuming auxiliary fuel tanks. It also retains one hundred percent commonality with all UH-60M Black Hawk engine and dynamic systems.

The Air Force said that delivery of the new model is significant for personnel recovery missions as the service begins the transition from the HH-60G, which has been flown for more than twenty-six years. The HH-60G Pave Hawk is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk, and incorporates the Air Force's PAVE electronics system program. It was first introduced in 1982 and is currently operated by the U.S. Air Force as well as by the Republic of Korea Air Force as the HH-60P variant. The U.S. Air Force will continue to utilize the Pave Hawk until the transition is complete.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com. 

Image: Sikorsky