The Navy's Multi-tool

The US Navy’s rotary wing community is truly the Gerber multi-tool of the aviation world. Navy helos deployed globally on all types of ships routinely conduct a wide variety of missions including maritime security operations, logistics, ISR, to SOF support, and when required can rapidly switch to sea control missions such as ASW and ASUW. As BJ Armstrong writes concerning his Det's recent operations, "The MH-60S Block III Armed Helo’s that now deploy with amphibious assault ships like BATAAN come in the gunship variant. These aircraft have a wide range of armament options that make it a highly capable platform. You can buy nearly a squadron of them for the cost of one Joint Strike Fighter."

The other thing I like about BJ's post and others like it is that it provides a knowledgeable, passionate, first hand perspective on the action, rather than the watered down version of events we usually get from the Navy’s PAO community.

The opinions and views expressed in this post are those of the author alone and are presented in his personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Department of Defense, the US Navy, or any other agency.