Images show that parts of U.S. Army 160th SOAR MH-60M that crash landed off Okinawa were covered to hide some details

August 12, 2015 Aviation Safety / Air Crashes, Helicopters
David Cenciotti

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.

MH-60 Japan 4

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.

MH-60 Japan 3

Screenshots via @AbraxasSpa

 

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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1 Comment

  1. 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 .

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