Maritime External Air Transportation System using a U.S. Army MH-47G Chinook.
Taken on May 21, in Moses Lake, Washington, the above image shows Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen from Special Boat Team 12, stationed at Naval Base Coronado, California, conducting a MEATS (Maritime External Air Transportation System) training with the help of the aviators from 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
MEATS is a way to move a watercraft from land or water to somewhere else using a U.S. Army MH-47G Chinook helicopter of the 160th SOAR (A) “Night Stalkers”, the U.S. Army special ops force which provides support for both general purpose and special operations forces flying Chinooks, MH-60L/K Black Hawks, A/MH-6M Little Birds choppers and MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones (along with a few MH-X Silent Hawks and perhaps a bunch of stealthy Chinooks and some stealthy Little Birds).
The procedure is as follows: the watercraft crewmen rig the boat to the chopper hovering above, and then climb a rope ladder to board the MH-47 before it moves to the final destination, where they will slide down a rope to the boat before the helicopter disconnects the hoist cables.
Image credit: U.S. Army
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