Air Force Resurrects Pave Hawk Fleet From Combat Damage
[Kris Osborn]
Kris Osborn
Thursday at 5:03 PM
Upgrades to the "life-saving" Pave Hawk helicopters include the addition of a color weather radar, upgraded radar warning receivers, automatic direction finders, digital intercom system and an ethernet backbone to the avionics system.
When soldiers, airman and sailors are injured by enemy fire, ambushed or pinned down by dangerous attacks, Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters are tasked with the risky combat mission of flying in behind enemy lines – to save imperiled service members.
“We've made a promise to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines --- and that promise is we will always come get you,” Brig. Gen. Eric Fick, Director of Global Reach Programs, Air Force Acquisition, told Scout Warrior in an interview.
However, the Pave Hawk fleet has been taxed by recent combat in Iraq and Afghanistan; the fleet has been decimated by loss, damage and the wear and tear of consistent high-risk combat missions. As a result, the Air Force is deeply immersed in a crucial effort to restore the fleet to its needed operational strength, Fick explained.
http://www.scout.com/military/warrior/story/1692645-air-force-resurrects-pave-hawks-from-combat
