EH-60A Quick Fix

Quick Fix is a tactical, heliborne intercept and electronic countermeasures system deployed on a modified utility helicopter. Quick Fix helicopters are organic to the division, separate brigade, and armored cavalry regiment. As with SEMA airspace requirements, Quick Fix flight profiles are situationally dependent on mission requirements, aircraft and system capabilities, air defense threat, and weather. A flight profile requires airspace within the division or corps area of operations and at altitudes above the coordinating altitude. In addition to its airspace requirements, Quick Fix requires the monitoring of electronic warfare (EW) operations to coordinate the use of the electromagnetic spectrum by all forces.

The AN/ALQ-151 (V)2, QUICKFIX, Special Purpose Countermeasures System, is an aviation asset. Installed in an EH-60A, Blackhawk Helicopter with a primary mission to intercept, locate and jam enemy communications and pass such intelligence to Military Intelligence elements. The EH-60A Helicopter, its Avionics, Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE), and Integrated Inertial Navigation System (IINS) is maintained under the Aviation Unit Maintenance (AVUM), Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM) and Depot maintenance philosophy. The Mission Equipment Package (MEP) is maintained under the four level maintenance concept: Unit Level (UL), Direct Support (DS), General Support (GS) and Depot.

The EH-60A Quickfix capabilities include Intercept (1.5-150 Mhz), Direction Finder (20-76 Mhz), Jammer (20-80 Mhz) Standoff Jamming 15-30 Km behind FLOT. At the division and armored cavalry regiment, the EH-60A Quickfix is an important special electronic mission aircraft (SEMA). asset for conducting intelligence and electronic warfare (IEW). The EH-60A (Quickfix) and the follow on EH-60L (Advanced Quickfix) provide the commander with signal intelligence and electronic jamming capability using the advantage of aviation mobility.

The earlier EH-1H Quick Fix IA/IB was an UH-1H Huey modified with electronic equipment to intercept, and jam enemy communications. The principal EW system was the ESL AN/ALQ-151 jamming system. The mission gross weight was 8,800 lb (3,992 kg), 1,050 lb (476 kg). Range is 250 nm (288 mi; 463 km) and endurance is 17/10 hours. At least 30 EH-1H modifications were completed. All have been replaced by EH-60A and EH-60L Quick Fix two aircraft. The EH-1X QUICK FIX 2 and QUICK FIX 2A aircraft was an Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) variant of the Huey designed to intercept and jam enemy communications. It also had direction finding (DF) and location capabilities and could downlink the info to an Army ground station. Only ten EH-1Xs were built.

EH-60A QUICK FIX 2B has capabilities similar to the EH-1X QUICK FIX 2 and QUICK FIX 2A aircraft. The UH-60A was chosen for QUICK FIX 2B because it could carry a much heavier load than the EH-1X "Huey". This Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) variant had a unique external antenna designed to intercept and jam enemy communications. It also had direction finding (DF) and location capabilities and could downlink the info to an Army ground station. The EH-60A was powered by two General Electric T700-GE-700 1622 shp turboshaft engines.

Sixty-one EH-60As were fielded. The special electronic mission aircraft (SEMA) community operates a total of 67 EH-60 Quick-Fix aircraft of various configurations, including several research and development models.