Air Force unveils next-gen 'Whiskey' helicopters to replace Pave Hawks: 'A beacon of hope'
Rick Neale, Florida Today Published 10:40 p.m. ET Oct. 7, 2019 | Updated 5:26 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2019
A new combat rescue helicopter, the HH-60W "Whiskey" model of the Pave Hawk, was on display during a ceremony at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in Jupiter on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. Four HH-60W aircraft are undergoing testing and five more are in production.
A new combat rescue helicopter, the HH-60W "Whiskey" model of the Pave Hawk, was on display during a ceremony at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in Jupiter on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. Four HH-60W aircraft are undergoing testing and five more are in production. (Photo: PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM)
JUPITER, Fla. — In summer 2005, HH-60G Pave Hawks with the Air Force Reserve's 920th Rescue Wing flew a daring mission along Afghanistan's Hindu Kush mountains to save Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell after his team was killed in a Taliban ambush.
Those aging combat rescue helicopters from Operation Red Wings — later memorialized in the book and movie "Lone Survivor" — debuted back in 1982.
Now, the replacement of the Pave Hawk has arrived.
Officials with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, showcased the next-generation HH-60W "Whiskey" helicopter during a ceremony Monday at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in Jupiter, Florida.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/07/air-force-unveils-next-gen-helicopters-replace-pave-hawks/3904903002/
