Program Will Restore The Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement Fleet To Its Authorized Size

The first Operational Loss Replacement  HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter has been delivered to the U.S. Air Force by the U.S. Army by Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Paul Rauenhorst and Capt. Seth Peterson pilots on Aug. 5, 2019, to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Defense Blog reports that the aircraft is a rebuilt low-hour U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk aircraft. “It’s a much younger airframe,” Rauenhorst said. “These airframes are from 2001 to 2004 models, where ours sitting on the ramp are 1992 models. These are Army Limas rebuilt to be Golf models.”

The HH-60 is the primary SAR helicopter deployed by the Department of Defense. Multiple aircraft have been lost in nearly 18 years deployed in combat operations, and the OLR program is designed to bring the Pave Hawk fleet back to its authorized size, according to the report.

Chief Master Sgt. Eric Chester, 176th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron superintendent, said that the OLRs will significantly increase the availability for the fleet, as they are lower-time aircraft that will require less maintenance.

“The impact of the OLR coming into our wing is huge,” Chester said. “It’s a big opportunity for everyone here to be able to take advantage of these new aircraft and reset across the board.”

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report