
A Special Operations Black Hawk performed a “hard-deck landing” on the USNS Red Cloud off Okinawa, Japan.
Seven military were injured after an MH-60M Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the U.S. Army’s 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) performed a “hard-deck landing” on the USNS Red Cloud, 20 miles off Okinawa, Japan.
Aerial footage broadcast by several media outlets showed the helicopter (coded “63”) with part of its tail broken off: screenshots posted on Social Media (special thanks to @AbraxasSpa) shows that main and tail rotors were covered, most probably to hide some details (maybe noise reduction devices and other interesting sensors) of the Special Operations helicopter.
Therefore, not a Silent Hawk like the one involved in the Abbottabad raid to kill Bin Laden, but a highly modified chopper with plenty of details that is better to keep away from cameras.
Screenshots via @AbraxasSpa
Looks like pretty run of the mill MH-60L it has as all the usual bits sticking out the front , radar, refueling probe etc….
I’ve actually worked on several Military Sealift vessels, and we participated in several counter terrorism /piracy drills were the military practiced to take control of the ship via helicopters and small boats. They did things like fast rope on to the ship from hovering helicopters. It’s something they practice on a regular basis because ships like the Red Cloud are more like the civilian ships they would encounter in real life. Sadly one of the ships I crewed, the USNS Arctic had a similar MH-60 crash in 2009.
I think the traps have more to do with securing the wreckage for investigation and protecting it from the environment until the ship gets into port .