US Special Operations Aviation Eyes Faster Transport

Special Operations Aviation Eyes Faster Transport

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2010/01/mil-100109-arnews03.htm

(Source: US Army; issued Jan 9, 2010)

WASHINGTON — Army Special Operations aviation needs faster helicopters to meet the speed and range requirements needed to conduct operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the 160th SOAR commander.

Col. Clayton M. Hutmacher, commander, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), discussed regiment initiatives during the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Army Aviation Symposium and Exposition, Jan. 5-7 in Arlington, Va.

“I think the way ahead for us is we have go to break that 120-knot barrier,” he said. “For us, some of these targets that we are trying to range — strategic targets — basing is a big problem for us –trying to get close enough to that target. And we are looking to go farther, faster and carry more stuff.”

In Afghanistan and Iraq, speed and range are critical to conducting the special operations mission, Hutmacher said.

“If you look at the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a nonlinear battlefield,” he said. “I think speed, while maybe not realized by the operations at large — that speed and range are very important when you are dealing with non-state actors and fleeting targets. I think Army aviation would be well served by starting to look at that a little bit more.”

Hutmacher mentioned two aircraft, the Piasecki Speedhawk and Sikorsky X-2, as examples of the kind of capability he’s looking for.

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