The helicopter that the Americans lost during an exercise in the skies over the eastern Mediterranean was not just any helicopter; MH-60 Black Hawk serves to transport members of the Special forces. And in all likelihood he was part of one of the US Army’s elite units that regularly conducted raids and sensitive exfiltration missions to recover operators enemy territory. The accident – the helicopter did not fly due to hostility – killed five American soldiers.
For good reason, it is the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment that operates with several versions of the Mh-60 Black Hawk, Ah-6 Little Bird and powerful Mh-47 Chinook twin-rotors, not much different from those of the Aves: the Air component of the Italian Army, which, for example, entrusts units such as the 3rd special helicopter regiment “Aldebaran” with the task of transporting our attackers by air.
As reported by official sources According to the US Department of Defense, the crashed helicopter was taking part in a refueling exercise and crashed into a stretch of sea south of the island of Cyprus for “reasons that are not yet clear,” killing five soldiers who have already been identified.
This type of helicopter, equipped with a special probe, is designed for in-flight refueling by tanker aircraft such as the Hercules Kc-130 tanker; to expand the scope and scope of aerotactic operations that do not need to include intermediate stops. In adverse weather conditions, such as B. strong winds, the maneuvers are of In-flight refueling can lead to a collision between the helicopter and the refueling cage triggered by the tanker or, at very low altitude, lead to a crash Evasive maneuvers This can lead to a loss of buoyancy and a resulting crash onto the surface, in this case the sea.
Special forces in the Mediterranean
In recent weeks it has already become known that a special naval and air force task force has been activated in the affected quadrant of the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular on the island of Cyprus, where NATO bases such as the British one in Akrotiri are located, comprising special forces of the Navy Seals, of Delta Force and other units of the United States Special Operations Command, known by the acronym Socom. These units were placed on alert both in the event of an escalation Gaza Strip, and in the hypothesis – now removed – that an operation is planned to free the hostages held by Hamas and the jihadist cells present in the strip. In fact, it should be remembered that at least 40 of the 239 hostages are U.S. citizens with a double pass.
Any deployment of American airborne troops to Gaza would likely require the involvement of the nicknamed ferrymen Night Stalker: the pilots of the above-mentioned 160th Special Regiment, already known for being the protagonists of operations such as “Gothic Serpen” in Somalia (told in the famous film “Black Hawk Down”, editor’s note) and in the lightning raid in Being Pakistan that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden by the infamous Team 6 of the Navy Seal.
The helicopters in question, which are usually painted in a black livery that further reduces their visibility during night operations, are regularly used to accompany the attackers on operations that are subject to the highest levels of secrecy. Missions that require exceptional preparation.