MH-47E Special Operations Aircraft (SOA)
The MH-47 Special Operations Aircraft (SOA) is the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment long-distance, heavy-lift helicopter, which is equipped with aerial refueling capability, a fast-rope rappelling system and other upgrades or operations-specific equipment.
The Army bought 24 of the advanced MH-47E Chinook helicopters, and has lost three -- one during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, another in the Philippines and one in a training accident.
US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) aircraft contribute to the Joint Vision 2010 concept of dominant maneuver by helping to create asymmetric advantages for combined application of land, air, and sea power against enemy defenses within the joint environment. They are eminently capable, as modernized, multi-mission platforms operating within tailor-to-task organizations, of supporting precise, agile, fast-moving joint operations.
The three versions of the CH-47 in the Army inventory are the CH-47D, the MH-47D, and the MH-47E. The MH-47D and the MH-47E are air refuelable. Eight NVG equipped CH-47C were used by the US Army's Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) from 1981 as long range transports. An additional 16 CH-47D SOA (Special Operations Aircraft), equipped with improved navigation, SATCOM, and EW systems, entered service beginning in 1984 and remained in use by reserve forces.
The MH-47 conducts overt and covert infiltrations, exfiltrations, air assault, resupply, and sling operations over a wide range of environmental conditions. The aircraft can perform a variety of other missions including shipboard operations, platform operations, urban operations, water operations, parachute operations, forward aerial refueling point (FARP) operations, mass casualty, and combat search and rescue operations. With the use of special mission equipment and night vision devices, the air crew can operate in hostile mission environments over all types of terrain at low altitudes during periods of low visibility and low ambient lighting conditions with pinpoint navigation accuracy.
The MH-47E Chinook is a modified CH-47D with an integrated cockpit, upgraded engines, aerial refueling capability, forward looking infrared (FLIR), terrain following/terrain avoidance (TF/TA) radar, upgraded navigation and communication systems, integrated aviation support equipment (ASE), and external rescue hoist. Included with other modifications is a significantly increased fuel capacity with modified main and auxiliary fuel tanks. The aircraft has modified integrated avionics suites and multi-mode radars and is intended to provide adverse-weather infiltration/exfiltration and support to US Military Forces, country teams, other agencies and special activities.
The MH-47E helicopters are used for long range transport missions. The MH-47E is required to complete a 5.5-hour covert mission over a 300-nm (555-km) radius, at low level, day or night, in adverse weather, over any type of terrain, and do so with a 90% probability of success. To help it carry heavy loads long distances the MH-47E had it's engines upgraded and more fuel capacity added. Two Textrom Lycoming T55L-714 engines rated at over 4,000 Shaft-horsepower were added, replacing the 3,750 -712's of the standard CH-47D.
The MH-47E combines many proven Chinook systems and features. Notable among these are fuels tanks providing twice the capacity of the CH-47D and an in-flight refueling system. MH-47Es are remanufactured in the CH-47D production line, with most E-model systems installed during the final stages of completion. Many of the MH-47E's technologies, such as its integrated cockpit displays, FLIR and multimode radar, were flight-tested in the Boeing Model 360 Advanced Technology Demonstrator. They continue to be tested in the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
The MH-47E's integrated avionics system (IAS) permits global communications and navigation. The IAS is the most advanced system of its kind ever installed in a U.S. Army helicopter. The IAS includes forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and multimode radar for nap-of-the-earth and low level flight operations in conditions of extremely poor visibility and adverse weather. The Army requires MH-47E and MH-60K avionics systems to be common and interchangeable. Critical IAS components - basic radios, mission computers and multifunction displays, for example - can be exchanged between an MH-47E and an MH-60K in minutes. Switching avionics between different makes and models of aircraft is unique. This capability means that missions conducted far from normal supply channels have a much higher probability of successful completion.
The U.S. ArmyTs MH-47Es remain among the most advanced helicopters flying today. Among the distinguishing features are the in-flight refueling boom, rescue hoist, chin-mounted
forward-looking infrared turret and terrain-following, terrain-avoidance radar.
The first MH-47E Special Operations Chinook served as a flight test prototype, and aircraft numbers 2 and 3 were utilized initially for electromagnetic environmental effects and aircraft survivability equipment testing at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland.
MH-47E testing was limited to the major change to the aircraft which affects vulnerability. In the case of the MH-47E, this was the addition of an 800 gallon Robertson Auxiliary Fuel Tank in the cabin and Boeing designed sponson tanks with expanded capacity and honeycomb shell construction. Analyses conducted during the test planning phase revealed that the largest potential vulnerability was associated with projectiles entering the fuel tanks in the volume above the liquid fuel. Such impacts could ignite the fuel vapors and cause explosions and/or fires with serious consequences. During test planning, USSOCOM decided to add an inerting system to the fuel tanks to avoid such fires/explosions. This will be a lead-the-fleet system that will be available for similar helicopter variants in other fleets as well.
The Live Fire Testing on these systems was completed in May 1998. The MH-47E fuel tanks demonstrated exceptional ability to withstand ballistic impacts of projectiles associated with small arms, automatic weapons, and anti-aircraft artillery. The tanks are designed to be self-sealing against .50 projectiles. However, the live fire tests indicated that the tanks designs are effective against much larger non-exploding projectiles, even with multiple impacts on the same tank. The designs also proved to be effective in mitigating the fuel loss from impacts by HEI projectiles. In addition, there were no fires in the 23 shots except for one, which self extinguished before any significant damage was done. One of the reasons for the strength of this design against ballistic threats is in part due to the fact that the tanks are designed to be crashworthy and this adds to the robustness against the ballistic threat.
One system fielded largely because of the Army's Airborne Engineering Evaluation Support Branch -- a proponent of the U.S. Army Communication and Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, NJ -- research efforts is the Personnel Locator System. It allows search and rescue aircraft to find downed crewmembers without giving away the aviator's location. One of AEESB's most important projects was a prototype for the 'glass cockpit' in special operations aircraft. Most aircraft cockpits contain lots of buttons, gauges and dials that can be very confusing. AEESB's 1985 tests of a digital avionics system led to digital cockpits in the MH-47E Chinook and MH-60E Black Hawk special operations aircraft. The glass cockpit basically replaced with computer screens all the many instruments a pilot previously used to fly the aircraft," said Cannan. The MH-60K and MH-47E special operations helicopters are fielded with the digitized cockpits. The desktop trainer is an interactive software program that supplements the MH-47E and MH-60K manuals. It's used to familiarize transitioning pilots to the "glass cockpits" of these two SOF airframes.
A contract issued in December 1987 provided for the development and flight-testing of a single MH-47E prototype, and 25 production aircraft. A contract allowing for long-lead purchases and the induction of the first 25 production aircraft was awarded in June 1991. In separate contracting activities, the Army selected IBM Federal Systems, since purchased by Lockheed Martin, as directed IAS subcontractor to Boeing and Sikorsky.
A total of 26 MH-47E were produced of the 51 initially planned, due to high expense [at least $14 million and as much as $40 million apiece]. All of the Special Operations Chinooks are modernized aircraft, having been converted from earlier-model CH-47 airframes. Delivery of the 26th MH-47E to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) took place in May 1995. The 160th had been operating the new rotorcraft since 1993 while flight crews completed training with the Special Operations Chinook's sophisticated integrated cockpit control system.
CINCSOC directed USASOC to replace the AFSOC MH-53J helicopters in the PACOM and EUCOM AORs with MH-47E helicopters from the 160th SOAR (A) by 2001 and 2005 respectively.
In 1996 a US Army MH-47E operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment crashed at Fort Campbell, KY with the loss of five members of the 160th. A subsequent investigation concluded the most likely cause to be loss of electrical power due to the presence of water in the helicopters primary (electrical) distribution panels (PDPs). Since the accident, changes have been made to protect PDPs from water intrusion.
On 29 December 1999 Boeing Helicopters, a Division of the Boeing Company was awarded a letter contract with a not to exceed amount of $5,500,000. The estimated total contract amount upon definitization will not exceed $11,000,000. This contract calls for the purchase of long lead components necessary to construct a replacement MH-47E helicopter for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Ft. Campbell, Kentucky plus engineering services prerequisite to construction of the aircraft. Engineering services will be performed during the period 1 January 2000 - 31 August 2000.
On September 28, 2000 the Boeing Company, Philadelphia, Pa., was awarded a $25,675,595 modification to a previously awarded contract (USZA95-C-0002) to modify a U.S. Army CH-47D helicopter (Bear Cat 3) to the special operations forces MH-47E configuration to include BGAD III model. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., and was expected to be completed by April 30, 2003. The US Army Aviation CenterTs CH-47 Chinook -- nicknamed "Bearcat III" -- was utilized to test and evaluate new aircraft systems and configurations, After its arrival at Boeing PhiladelphiaTs manufacturing facility in early October 2000, "Bearcat IIIl" was stripped, inspected and repaired in preparation for remanufacturing as an MH-47E Special Operations Chinook, nicknamed the "Dark Horse." The "Bearcat III" modernization, to be completed in 2003, will restore the full complement of MH-47Es authorized for the Special Operations Forces.
Among U.S. and allied military helicopters, the Chinook is the only one that could fly with the full loads of troops and equipment needed for combat assaults over Afghanistan's high mountains and rugged terrain. The MH-47Es, with long-range fuel tanks, an aerial refueling probe, multimode radar and forward-looking infrared sensors, provided an extra edge for these missions. They can fly nearly 150 miles per hour just a few feet off the ground, at night and in bad weather.
In the first six months of the war against terrorism, Night Stalker Chinooks flew more than 200 combat missions totaling about 2,000 flight hours. The Chinooks flew as high as 16,000 feet (which forced crews to use oxygen systems) for as long as 15 hours. More than 70 of these missions, flown in the war's first three months, involved infiltration or removal of special operations troops behind enemy lines. Throughout, the Chinooks maintained a 99-percent mission readiness rate.
During Operation Anaconda in northeast Afghanistan, the MH-47Es proved their combat mettle. Taliban and Al Qaeda forces zeroed in with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades on Night Stalker Chinooks as they landed troops during the battle.
One Chinook took off and flew out of the trap to safety with wounded crew and badly damaged electrical and hydraulic systems. Unfortunately, enemy gunfire killed a Navy SEAL, who fell from the aircraft during its escape. Attacks also damaged a second Chinook as it unloaded troops sent to search for him and brought down a third as it landed reinforcements, five of whom were killed in action. Both pilots and one gunner in the third aircraft were wounded, and the second gunner lost his life. Later, Chinooks returned to pick up the American troops, who destroyed the enemy stronghold. Despite severe combat damage, all but one of the Chinooks involved are expected to return to flight.
