July 5, 2009 at 2:00 am
I realise, following the cancellation of the VH-71, that the existing fleet of Sea King Marine One machines are being upgraded with Carson blades, better comms and fuel system etc.. I recently noticed a picture of Marine One (VH-3D) landing at some big summit and noticed that it appeared to be missing the distinctive ALQ-144 IR jammers normally seen in staggered pairs under the fuselage. Instead it looked like they had been replaced with smaller bumps and I was wondering if they were DIRCM turrets. They looked smaller that the ones I have seen on the AW-101 Merlins in UK service but none the less it would be logical upgrade.
Can anyone verify this upgrade or were my eyes deceiving me.
Thanks