Sikorsky HH - 60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky HH - 60 Pave Hawk is a two engine , Combat Search and Rescue ( CSAR ) variant of the Sikorsky UH - 60 Black Hawk with the primary mission of rescues special units or downed pilots . Description . The HH - 60G ' s primary wartime mission is combat search and rescue , infiltration , exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces in day , night or marginal weather conditions . The HH - 60G Pave Hawk provides the capability of independent rescue operations in combat areas up to and including medium - threat environments . Recoveries are made by landing or by alternate means , such as rope ladder or hoist . Low - level tactical flight profiles are used to avoid threats . Night Vision Goggle ( NVG ) and Forward Looking Infrared ( FLIR ) assisted low - level night operations and night water operation missions are performed by specially trained crews . The basic crew normally consists of five : pilot , co - pilot , flight engineer , and two PJs . The aircraft can also carry eight to 10 troops . Pave Hawks are equipped with a rescue hoist with a 200 - foot ( 60 . 7 meters ) cable and 600 - pound ( 270 kilograms ) lift capacity . The helicopter hoist can recover survivors from a hover height of 200 feet above the ground or vertical landings can be accomplished into unprepared areas . The hoist can recover a Stokes litter patient or three people simultaneously on a forest penetrator . The helicopter has limited self - protection provided by side window mounted M - 60 , M - 240 , or GAU - 2B machine guns . Pave Hawk is equipped with two crew - served 7 . 62mm miniguns mounted in the cabin windows . Also , two . 50 caliber machine guns can be mounted in the cabin doors . An APR - 39A ( V ) 1 radar warning receiver , ALQ - 144A infrared jammer , Hover Infrared Suppression System ( HIRSS ) , M - 130 chaff dispenser , and precision navigation equipment ( GPS , Inertial Navigation System ( INS ) , Doppler ) afford additional threat avoidance and protection . Mission systems on the HH - 60H make it ideally suited for operations with special warfare units . Combat - equipped personnel can be covertly inserted and / or extracted in any terrain with precise GPS navigation accuracy . A variety of insertion and extraction techniques are available , including landing , hoisting , fastrope , rappel , paradrop , McGuire or SPIE Rig , and CRRC . Additionally , Helicopter Visit Board Search and Seizure ( HVBSS ) operations may be conducted using one or more of these insertion / extraction techniques . HVBSS missions are designed to take control of a ship considered to be a Contact of Interest ( COI ) . The ability to interdict or ' take down ' shipping during enforcement of a naval blockade requires precise planning and execution . Tethered Duck ( T - Duck ) was implemented to rapidly insert troops and a Combat Rubber Raiding Craft ( CRRC ) to water areas . The troops fastrope down to the CRRC after it is lowered into the water , and the motor is then hoisted down to the troops to complete the procedure . Parachute operations are used for inserting troops when the helicopters are unable to land with a minimum free - fall drop altitude of 2500 feet AGL ( above ground level ) . The maximum speed is 193 knots with a cruise speed of 120 to 140 knots . Unrefueled range is 480 nautical miles ( NM ) , with a combat load and aircraft at maximum gross weight of 22 , 000 lbs ; the combat radius is approximately 200NM . Inflight refueling greatly extends this range . Pave Hawks are equipped with a retractable in - flight refueling probe and internal auxiliary fuel tanks . All HH - 60G ' s have an automatic flight control system to stabilize the aircraft in typical flight altitudes . They also have instrumentation and engine and rotor blade anti - ice systems for all - weather operation . The HH - 60G is equipped with an all - weather radar which enables the crew to avoid inclement weather . Pave Hawks are equipped with folding rotor blades and a tail stabilator for shipboard operations and to ease air transportability . The non - retractable landing gear consists of two main landing gears and a tail wheel . Aft sliding doors on each side of the troop and cargo compartment allow rapid loading and unloading . External loads can be carried on an 8 , 000 - pound ( 3 , 600 kilograms ) capacity cargo hook . The Pave Hawk can be equipped with the external stores support system . The HH - 60 is stationed throughout the world . MAJCOMS include AFRC , ANG , AFSOC , PACAF , AFMC , AETC , and ACC . ACC is the lead command . Besides a full complement of flightline support , home stations provide two and three level maintenance support functions . HH - 60 helicopter is a worldwide deployable aircraft . Two 365 day a year contingencies are currently being conducted . In deployment scenarios some locations have full flightline support capabilities with limited backshop support , while other deployed sites have less support , down to a bare base scenario . A flightline support contingent is deployed with the aircraft . Depending on the deployment location and duration , varying levels of backshop maintenance support might also be deployed . HH - 60G is rapidly approaching its flying hour service life limit . Consequently , CAF will soon require either a service life extension program ( SLEP ) for HH - 60G or procurement of a replacement aircraft for conducting CSAR operations . The HH - 60G System Program Office ( WR - ALC / LU ) is assessing whether HH - 60G ’ s service life limit is 8 , 000 flight hours , IAW the Army specification for the H - 60 airframe , or actually closer to 7 , 000 flight hours based upon AF configuration and operating gross weights of the HH - 60G . Depending on the assessment results , HH - 60G aircraft ( 1981 models ) will begin reaching their service life limit as early as FY00 , if service life limit is determined to be 7 , 000 flight hours . Otherwise , if the limit is determined to be 8 , 000 flight hours , 1981 model HH - 60G aircraft will begin reaching their service life limit in FY03 . As of 2002 there were no HH - 60s in special operations any more . The last squadron that had them was the 55th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field , and they flew the MH - 60 , a HH - 60 variant . Air Combat Command ( ACC ) is analyzing concepts / alternatives to assess their relative cost effectiveness and affordability for sustaining the U . S . Air Force ' s Combat Search and Rescue ( CSAR ) capability . After complete concepts / alternatives ( aircraft platform - level , including subsystems , and support / training systems ) are received , the Air Force intends to analyze those that provide the most opportunity to satisfy currently deficient mission capabilities while maintaining , as a minimum , existent Combat Rescue capability . A detailed Analysis of Alternatives ( AoA ) will follow to ascertain whether or not the concepts / alternatives exceed / meet / do not meet the specific measures of effectiveness . The AoA will include modeling , simulation , and CSAR scenarios projected for 2010 . If this analysis results in the initiation of an acquisition program to procure a replacement for the HH - 60G aircraft , the Initial Operational Capability ( IOC ) would be in place by the end of FY07 . The Block 152 upgrade , formally known as Upgraded Communication , Navigation / Integrated Electronic Warfare ( UCN / IEW ) , is the most significant upgrade ever for the HH - 60G Pave Hawk . The upgrades are designed to greatly enhance the aircraft ' s performance in locating and retrieving downed pilots from hostile territory . The program is managed by Aeronautical Systems Center ( ASC ) here . The combined government team includes ASC , Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and Air Combat Command . New features include an enhanced communication and navigation system , and an electronic warfare suite that dispenses countermeasures to thwart missile and radar threats . These systems are integrated into a 1553 computer data bus designed to greatly reduce aircrew workload . ( The 1553 data bus concept was developed here in the late 1970s by Air Force personnel in the Avionics Laboratory , now Sensors Directorate of Air Force Research Laboratory . ) The aircraft also features a new , external , gun - mount system that supports a . 50 caliber machine gun in addition to the current , 7 . 62 - mm minigun and M240 gun . After certification of the upgrade on a prototype aircraft , a contract will be issued to retrofit 48 more aircraft , scheduled to be completed by 2007 . The Block 152 acquisition program started out as a minor mod , fitting the new items in available space , but ended up as a major mod with the relocation of almost every avionics unit . All of the communications and navigation information on the new aircraft is available on a single , control display unit . Another modification to the helicopter is the relocation of the forward - looking , infrared radar ( FLIR ) turret from an area that was below the nose and slightly to the left of the centerline , to an area on the nose that is higher off the ground along the centerline of the aircraft . This was primarily a maintenance - driven requirement . These aircraft have to land in unimproved areas , and there was a problem with these costly turrets being crushed , so the idea was to move it up and forward . Guns on the modified Pave Hawk are mounted externally , instead of being hinged to swing inside the cabin to lock in place . This provides flight engineers , who operate the aircraft ' s weapons , with the advantage of closing the gunner ' s windows when flying in subzero temperatures , and frees up cabin space . The guns lock in a fixed , forward - firing position . In this configuration , the capability exists for pilots to operate the weapons . The new mounts provide a weapon system that is completely external , to include the ammunition cans . The new system supports operation of a . 50 caliber machine gun . Previously , the big gun only could be operated from the open door of the aircraft . As another defensive measure , the new Pave Hawks will come equipped with electronic countermeasures that detect enemy radar and missile threats . The aircraft is designed to dispense flare and chaff automatically when these threats are detected . These flare - and - chaff buckets , never operationally certified before on any combat search - and - rescue helicopter , can operate in an automatic , semi - automatic or manual mode . This picture is not a PaveHawk . The communications , navigation and electronic warfare systems are integrated into an additional 1553 data bus . All of the aircraft ' s avionics , communications , navigation and electronic warfare systems fit into two , floor - to - ceiling racks immediately behind the cockpit , next to the flight engineer and gunners ' stations . The placement of these racks came as the result of a solution to a problem the team encountered when designing the new features . Originally the equipment was to be placed in the aft section of the aircraft . However , the weight of racks created a 400 - pound , center - of - gravity problem . Placing two racks forward was the solution ; moving the FLIR turret forward , also helped solve , unintentionally , the center - of - gravity problem . The placement of the equipment racks increases the overall cabin space . The racks are " line - replaceable units . " Equipment can be removed from the racks for repair and replaced within an hour . The racks provide room for future growth should additional equipment be added at a later date . The system also is designed to take advantage of the heat generated by the avionics systems in the racks . Warm air can be vented outside in hot weather , and inside in cool weather . Other important additions to the helicopter include a voice warning system ; a multi - mission , adaptive tactical terminal , which provides crewmembers with real - time , off - board intelligence ; system data loading with either 3 . 5 inch diskettes or flash memory " cards , " and improved Night Vision Goggles and NVG compatible displays .