In an unprecedented operation, the Marine Corps (USMC) and US Navy (USN) rescued an MH-60S Knighthawk search and rescue helicopter from a hillside, employing the newest heavy transport helicopter in the US fleet, the CH-53K King Stallion. This was the first operational mission of the CH-53K, which is still in the testing and evaluation phase and took place on September 05th, after two weeks of planning.
On July 17 of this year, the MH-60S, callsign Longhorn 02, took off to a search and rescue mission for a hiker lost when it crashed in the Mount Hogue region of the White Mountains chain in California. No one was injured in the accident and the four crew were rescued the next day.
Also in July, the VMX-1 (Naval Marines Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron), a unit that is carrying out tests with the CH-53K, received a request from the Naval Security Center to rescue the helicopter that had crashed in the mountain, at one altitude of 12 thousand feet (about 3657 meters).
According to Lieutenant Colonel Luke Frank, both the MH-60S unit and the Naval Security Center have exhausted all other resources for recovery, including fleet squadrons from the Army National Guard, Navy and Marine Corps. “All of them lacked the ability to lift the aircraft without extensive disassembly.", he said.
The CH-53K detachment from VMX-1 quickly reviewed the environmental conditions and conducted a rapid feasibility assessment and determined that the King Stallion could conduct the lift of the crashed helicopter. The CH-53K fulfills the Marine Corps' heavy transport mission by greatly expanding the fleet's ability to move equipment and personnel throughout its area of operations.
“After two weeks of exhaustive planning and assembling a team of more than 25 Marines and Sailors from the VMX-1 and 1st Landing Battalion from Camp Pendleton, we deployed two CH-53Ks to Bishop, California and got to work.”
The CH-53K is capable of lifting nearly 14 tons over a mission radius of 110 nautical miles (203 kilometers) in hot and high environments. It should be noted that the higher the altitude and temperature, the worse the performance of the helicopter, which is why it stands out for its operational capacity in hot and high environments.
The MH-60S weighed approximately 15.200 pounds (6894 kilograms) and was in a tight ravine at nearly 12 feet and needed to be transported 23 nautical miles to Bishop, California airport. “After six months of flying operations with the CH-53K, the detachment had every confidence in the aircraft's abilities to conduct the mission safely. Our main concern was the environmental factors that the ground personnel would have to endure,” Frank said.
"That's exactly what the K was made for," he said. “Heavy haulage is a unique and invaluable mission for the Marine Corps. Power is our weapon system and the CH-53K is armed to the teeth. Entire Marine Team from the VMX-1, 1st Landing Battalion and Search and Rescue at Naval Air Station Fallon were extremely motivated to execute this mission and we are all very proud to have completed it flawlessly. To be the first group of professionals to complete a real-world heavy/high-altitude transport mission in of a unit that thought all options were out of the question is extremely rewarding.”, Frank said. “This is sure to be the first of many, many successful missions for this aircraft and for heavy lift squadrons.”
With SHIP.
