The dark night flight of the U.S. 160th Aviation Combat Regiment

The mission characteristics of the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are significantly different from those of the U.S. Air Force's Special Operations Wing. It does not perform attack or electrical warfare missions; in contrast, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's The main mission is to break through the helicopter operating airspace restrictions, cut into the dark sky, and achieve stealth infiltration special operations transportation missions. Its flight requirements are low-altitude and high-speed sensitivity; low-altitude is to avoid the detection of enemy air defense radars, transport special operations troops to the target area without enemy warning, and evacuate special operations personnel after performing the mission; high-speed and sensitivity The purpose is to avoid the pursuit of enemy ground anti-aircraft fire in combat conditions. In order to achieve the above mission objectives, darkness is the best natural cover, so the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which places special emphasis on night flying, is often called "Night Stalkers". In addition to the main secret infiltration mission at night, they must also be dispatched during the day as long as the situation requires it; the mission characteristic of being on call at any time naturally forms its spiritual slogan: "Night Stalkers Never Quit" (Night Stalkers Never Quit).

Looking back at the history of U.S. special operations forces, its changes can be traced back to the failure of the Iranian hostage rescue operation. At that time, the three U.S. armies each had their own special operations force organizations. Although they each had tactical mobility capabilities, they were still somewhat insufficient in terms of application characteristics of other services.

In 1980, in order to rescue American hostages detained by terrorists, the U.S. Department of Defense launched a joint-service special operations operation called "Eagle Claw", which was transported by Navy ships and the Navy and Army. The team's helicopters maneuver tactically while Army Special Operations Forces execute the land assault plan. The operation ended tragically half-way. Before reaching the target area, the helicopters collided in the desert assembly area, resulting in dozens of casualties. The lessons of this failure made the U.S. Department of Defense deeply realize the importance of coordinated command of special operations forces, and also made President Ronald Reagan, who had just taken office at the time, determined to rectify the U.S. military's global special operations capabilities.

After the failure of the Iranian hostage rescue operation, the U.S. special operations organization underwent comprehensive changes. In 1981, the U.S. Department of Defense established the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) was responsible for integrating the control and command of the deployment operations of the respective special operations forces of the three armies.

Before the establishment of the Joint Special Operations Command, the only agency in the United States authorized by the government to carry out secret missions was the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). However, the military was usually required to carry out covert operations in overseas areas. Assistance, but military support is still technically illegal; in order to successfully meet the maneuver requirements and circumvent legal restrictions, the CIA launched a top secret program called "Seaspray", ostensibly the CIA purchased several improved fixed-wing aircraft The aircraft performs motorized transportation, but it is the Hughes 500MD helicopter of the Army Air Wing that actually performs the task of motorized transportation. Although the 500MD airframe is still an OH-6 light observation helicopter from the Vietnam War, it has been significantly modified to perform secret missions, and has become a model prototype for the subsequent evolution of helicopters used by U.S. special operations forces.

In order to smoothly support the "Sea Lion" operation, the 500MD helicopter has been almost completely modified. The addition of night vision equipment allows the 500MD helicopter to fly in complete darkness, with a maximum speed of 225km/h. (140mile/h) and above; the other is to transport personnel. The specially modified landing skid can carry 9 special operations personnel at a time. This is a very rare carrying performance for such a small helicopter. What's more, the 500MD is equipped with a special mechanism on the main rotor to enable silent flight and truly achieve the purpose of stealth penetration.

Shortly after Project Sea Lion began, Task Force 160 (Task Force 160) was established. In addition to supporting the covert operations of the CIA, its purpose is to serve as a special warfare penetration tool for the Army's Delta Special Operations Force.

Since most of the initial missions were carried out at night, the name "Night Stalker" quickly disappeared.

The establishment of Task Force 160, in addition to the needs of the CIA's "Sea Lion" program, actually also partly stemmed from the US Army's needs for special operations missions. Before the establishment of Task Force 160, the U.S. Army's special operations force infiltration and transportation mission was originally performed by the 158th Aviation Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division. Most of its operating aircraft were CH-47 Chinook or UH-1H Hugh. Yi-type and other transport helicopters; in order to meet the more "aggressive" mission characteristics of special operations operations, in addition to the urgent need to update the aircraft type and equipment, the scale must also be expanded. After adding MH-47, MH-60 and AH/MH-6J and other aircraft squadrons that meet the needs of special operations missions, the 158th Aviation Battalion was renamed the 160th Task Force.

In order to meet the requirements of special warfare missions, the main tasks and training directions of the 160th Task Force have two focuses. One is night flight, and the other is the special warfare ability training of flight crews. For highly qualified pilots, although special operations training is difficult, it is not difficult. Usually, after training in principles and skills, flight crews can cooperate with the missions of special operations forces (after all, ground combat is not for pilots) The main task); the real difficulty is to let the pilot adapt to the completely dark flight conditions. Due to the special nature of special operations missions, infiltration missions usually need to be carried out on a small scale in harsh weather (darkness and poor weather conditions) and difficult terrain, in order to achieve infiltration raid missions while avoiding enemy detection. Therefore, flying at low levels at night, with terrain obstacles, and performing missions independently and without assistance have become the main training requirements for the pilots of the 160th Task Force.

Flying at low altitude over difficult terrain at night may sound easy, but as one pilot said: “When weather and terrain become threatening factors, what you need is the hands of a surgeon. "The courage of a madman and the kind of bull." Perhaps it is the adventurous and enterprising qualities of pilots. When the 160th Task Force was established, it immediately became the "Mecca" of the U.S. military's helicopter flying units. Many of them served as generals in the Army's helicopter units. Pilots with transportation and flight training missions can't wait to apply to join the 160th Task Force to challenge their flying skills; what's more, many people from the helicopter units of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps also volunteer to join the 160th Task Force. War helicopter aviation unit.

Green's Platoon

The pilots initially selected into the 160th Task Force were assigned to a training course called "Green's Platoon" to conduct special operations flights train. During the training of the Green Platoon, pilots must completely abandon their original flying habits and learn new special operations night flight training, flying at night, at low altitudes and even at high speeds. The night vision equipment at that time had a narrow field of view and easily caused visual differences, which was quite dangerous when flying at low altitude and high speed over difficult terrain. A few degrees of difference in vision may cause the helicopter to become entangled in high-voltage cables or crash into a mountain wall, resulting in a tragedy of crash and death. In fact, the high attrition rate of the Green Platoon flight training course once made the U.S. Department of Defense want to terminate the establishment of the 160th Task Force.

1983 was the most difficult year for the 160th Task Force. Due to the use of night vision equipment to perform unusual flying methods, there was a flight training on Lake Michigan that was dark and foggy. , unclear vision, resulting in the tragedy of crashing into a mountain and injuring five pilots at once. In 1983, the Night Stalkers lost 17 personnel due to training accidents. This was an attrition rate that made the military quite "uncomfortable" in normal training.

However, it turns out that the training of the Green Platoon is helpful in improving the all-weather flying capabilities of the US military helicopter units.

Although flying at night with modern night vision equipment is still highly dangerous, the continuous improvement of night vision equipment based on practical experience and the cooperation and adaptation of pilots have made flying in the dark much safer. More importantly, Due to the inheritance of the training experience of the Green Platoon, modern helicopter units of the US military have all-weather flight capabilities. In addition, because low-altitude and high-speed training requirements are equivalent to aerobatics, the 160th Task Force has become a flying force with excellent technology and full of courage. , and breaks through the modern helicopter flying airspace that was previously considered impossible.

After 6 months of training with the Green Platoon, when all pilots have become accustomed to dangerous flying methods that are almost aerobatic, they must also undergo additional land special operations training so that they can cooperate with ground special operations forces; Ground combat training projects mainly focus on defense and escape survival training. When landing in an enemy area to release special operations troops to perform a specific mission, the crew's mission is to form a defensive fire network around the helicopter to prevent enemy ground troops from approaching. If the enemy forces continue to approach and it is obvious that they will pose a threat to the helicopter, the pilot will immediately It is necessary to board the aircraft and start the helicopter to prepare to leave the battlefield, while other crew members continue to resist the enemy's approach; if the enemy's approach cannot be prevented or the helicopter is damaged by enemy fire and cannot take off, the crew members' mission is to destroy the aircraft (especially some Confidential equipment) and quickly escaped, hiding their whereabouts and waiting for rescue.