{"id":59708,"date":"2025-05-26T22:34:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T20:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59708"},"modified":"2026-05-26T00:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T22:09:15","slug":"the-special-operations-helicopters-of-the-united-states-armys-night-stalkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/05\/26\/the-special-operations-helicopters-of-the-united-states-armys-night-stalkers\/","title":{"rendered":"The special operations helicopters of the United States Army's 'Night Stalkers'"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States is by far the country in the world that has most developed its extensive special operations military community.<\/p>\n

C-41A: the Spanish aircrafts used by the United States special operations forces<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe AFSOC 524th SOS: the 'airline' of the United States special operations military<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The disastrous Operation Eagle Claw<\/strong> of April 1980 (the failed rescue of American hostages in Iran) highlighted the need for a specific US Army aviation unit dedicated to supporting special operations<\/strong>. By then, the US Air Force (USAF) already had its 20th Special Operations Squadron, equipped with UH-1 Huey medium helicopters, and in 1980 it received its MH-53 Pave Low heavy helicopters.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. Army had already operated several small special operations aviation units<\/strong> during the Vietnam War, specifically the 129th Assault Helicopter Company<\/strong>, activated on July 5, 1965, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky (equipped with two UH-1 transport helicopter platoons and one AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter platoon), and the 281st Assault Helicopter Company<\/strong>, activated on October 7, 1965, at Fort Benning, Georgia, equipped with three UH-1 platoons. These units supported the Army Special Forces<\/strong>, the famous \"Green Berets.\"<\/p>\n

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The new special operations unit recruited pilots from the 101st Aviation Group<\/strong>, a highly experienced unit of the famed 101st Airborne Division \"Screaming Eagles.\" The provisional name of the new unit was Task Force 158 (TF158),<\/strong> based at Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division.<\/p>\n

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TF158 was equipped with three types of helicopters: the light Hughes OH-6 Cayuse<\/strong> reconnaissance helicopters flown by AH-1 Cobra pilots of the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion, the UH-60A Black Hawk medium transport helicopters<\/strong>, a model introduced in 1978 to the US Army to replace the aging UH-1s, and the heavy CH-47C Chinook helicopters<\/strong>, a model already used in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

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The pilots of TF158 received extensive specialized night flying training<\/strong> in order to undertake a new hostage rescue operation in Iran, which was ultimately canceled. TF158 officially became the 160th Aviation Battalion on October 16, 1981, consisting of four aviation companies:<\/strong> two with UH-60s, one with CH-47s, and one with OH-6s. In May 1990, the 160th Battalion became the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)<\/strong>, or 160th SOAR, also known as \"Night Stalkers\" due to the specialization of its crews and aircraft in low-light flying. In fact, all Night Stalkers helicopters are painted matte black<\/strong>, in order to go more unnoticed at night.<\/p>\n

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AH-6 and MH-6 Little Bird<\/big2><\/p>\n

The OH-6s of the 160th Aviation Battalion were modified<\/strong>, among other things, to be able to provide close air support with machine guns and rocket launchers. Thus was born the AH-6\/MH-6 Little Bird, the special version of the Cayuse used by this unit<\/strong>, an ideal helicopter for landing on rooftops and in narrow streets where the UH-60s and CH-47s could not reach.<\/p>\n

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The Little Birds were equipped with an upgraded engine, FLIR cameras, GPS, and an inertial navigation system.<\/strong> Eight of these helicopters (two AH-6 gunships and six MH-6 transports) were first flown during Operation Urgent Fury off the island of Grenada on October 25, 1983. The MH-6s transported Delta Force<\/strong> (the Special Forces' tier-one special operations team) and Army Rangers<\/strong>. The MH-6s would become world-famous for their role in the 1993 Battle of Mogasdishu, transporting Delta Force operators, an event immortalized in the 2001 film \"Black Hawk Down\". Currently, the Night Stalkers have 47 active-duty AH-6M and MH-6M versions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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MH-60 Black Hawk<\/big2><\/p>\n

As for the UH-60s, in 1984 the Night Stalkers were equipped with the MH-60A Black Hawk, a special operations version<\/strong> equipped with a more powerful engine, equipped with FLIR, M134 Minigun machine guns in the gunnery positions and other improvements in avionics and navigation systems. The MH-60As were replaced by the MH-60L in the early 1990s.<\/strong> In 1993, 19 MH-60Ls participated in the Battle of Mogasdishu, Somalia, in which two of them, the Super 6-1 and Super 6-4, were shot down, as shown in the aforementioned film. Five members of the 160th SOAR died in that battle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In addition to the MH-60L transports, the 160th SOAR has an armed version of the Black Hawk, the MH-60L DAP<\/strong> (Direct Action Penetrator), which is equipped with two small wings on either side of the fuselage that serve as mounts for various types of weapons, including the M230 Chain Gun used by the AH-64 Apache<\/strong>, as well as 70 mm Hydra rockets, GAU-19 rotary machine guns, AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, and AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles. This version does not have troop transport capabilities<\/strong>, as its rear compartment is taken up by ammunition.<\/p>\n

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In 2003, the 160th SOAR's Black Hawks were equipped with a refueling probe<\/strong> to extend their range. Currently, the version used by this unit is the MH-60M, equipped with more powerful engines, a glass cockpit with digital avionics, and an AN\/APQ-187 Silent Knight terrain-following radar, among other improvements. Today, the Night Stalkers have 72 Black Hawks of the MH-60L and MH-60M versions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The stealth MH-60 Black Hawk<\/big2><\/p>\n

In addition, the \"Night Stalkers\" have flown a secret version of the Black Hawk<\/strong>, with stealth capabilities and which was used in the operation to eliminate Osama Bin Laden on May 1, 2011 in Pakistan, with one of the aircraft left abandoned (although previously destroyed), except for the tail, which we can see here.<\/p>\n

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Little is known about this secret version.<\/strong> In addition to added panels on the fuselage to make it more angular and reduce its radar signature, this variant would have significant modifications to its main and tail rotors. Two helicopters representing this stealth version of the Black Hawk appeared in the 2012 film \"Dark Zero Thirty\" (above, a frame from that film).<\/p>\n

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MH-47 Chinook<\/big2><\/p>\n

Finally, the Night Stalkers initially operated 12 CH-47C Chinooks<\/strong>, the largest helicopter model in the unit. As with the other helicopter models used by the 160th SOAR, the CH-47Cs were upgraded to the MH-47D special operations version<\/strong>, incorporating an in-flight refueling probe in the nose and other improvements.<\/p>\n

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Currently, the version of the Chinook used by the Night Stalkers is the MH-47G Block II, with 71 units.<\/strong> This variant includes more powerful engines, a glass cockpit, terrain-following radar, and forward-looking infrared radar, among other improvements. You can see a video published by the US Army a few days ago here<\/strong> showing the Night Stalkers helicopters:<\/p>\n