When the AFSOC decided they needed a special operations helicopter with long range and the ability to carry a heavy load, they took the Sikorsky H-53 heavy assault transport helicopter and modified it for their specialized uses. Begun in 1988, the program took 41 Sikorsky HH/CH-53 helicopters and added a sophisticated nose-mounted forward-looking infrared system, an integrated digital avionics suite, AN/APQ-158 terrain-following and terrain-avoidance radar, global positioning satellite navigation, secure communications, AN/ALQ-162 continuous-wave radar missile jammer, ALQ-157 infrared missile jammer, ALE-40 flare/chaff dispensers, ALR-69 missile warning receivers, and AAR-47 missile plume detector. Finally, a computer was added just to manage all the other electronics. The helicopter is also armored and equipped with mounts for heavy machine guns or mini-guns, long-range fuel tanks, and an air-to-air refueling probe.

The upgraded helicopter is called the Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low. Deliveries of the new bird began in the summer of 1987; and, since their introduction to AFSOC, they have been used successfully in Operations in Panama, Iraq, Somalia, and Haiti.

Back to Table of Contents #5
© Copyright 1995 by One Small Step, Inc.