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2023-10-10

SAR: Lifesavers in the Sky

Military Helicopters: Part 4

Military helicopters encompass various classifications determined by their specific roles and capabilities. In the preceding three editions, we delved into Helicopter Types, Attack Helicopters and Transport Helicopters.

In this issue, our focus shifts to Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters, specialised aerial assets designed for responding to emergency scenarios, where their primary mission is to locate, assist, and evacuate individuals facing distressing situations.

SAR helicopters play a crucial role in saving lives and providing critical support during various rescue operations.

These helicopters are equipped with advanced navigation systems, sensors, and communication equipment that enable them to operate in challenging environments, including over land, water, and mountainous regions.

They are designed for quick response and are often stationed strategically to minimise response times in emergency situations.

Such helicopters excel at locating missing individuals, equipped with searchlights, thermal cameras, and radar systems for identifying people in distress, even during night or adverse weather conditions. Highly trained SAR crews use specialised techniques to systematically scan large areas, increasing the chances of finding the target.

SAR helicopters, upon locating those in need, conduct diverse rescue operations. Equipped with hoists, winches, or baskets, skilled crew members can be safely lowered to retrieve individuals from the ground or water. Some helicopters also carry medical equipment and personnel to provide immediate medical assistance and stabilise those in need during the rescue.

They serve as a crucial means of transportation for casualties or patients requiring urgent medical care. They also facilitate medical evacuations (Medevac) by swiftly transporting injured or critically ill individuals to medical facilities, ensuring timely access to critical advanced medical care.

The crews operating these helicopters undergo rigorous training in a wide range of rescue techniques, including hoisting, swiftwater rescue, and helicopter operations in various environments. They work closely with other search and rescue agencies, such as ground-based rescue teams, coast guards, and emergency response organisations, to ensure coordinated efforts in emergency situations.

Here are some notable examples of SAR helicopters:

Airbus H145

The Bundeswehr’s search and rescue service operates around the clock, 365 days a year. With 60 years of dedicated service in flying rescue missions for those in need, they are set to receive a new Airbus H145-based light support helicopter. This new aircraft will gradually replace the Bell UH-1D and is manufactured at Airbus Germany in Donauwörth.

The Airbus H145 is a popular choice for SAR operations due to its versatility, performance, and reliability. Its capabilities can vary depending on the specific configuration and equipment installed by operators, but here are some key features and capabilities that make it well-suited for SAR missions:

The H145 is a medium-sized, twin-engine helicopter with a spacious cabin. Its cabin layout allows for various configurations, including Medevac and SAR roles, and can accommodate medical equipment, stretchers, and rescue personnel.

With excellent range and endurance, it is well suited for covering expansive areas during SAR missions. This is essential for searching large areas and responding quickly to incidents, especially in challenging environments.

The helicopter’s speed and agility are invaluable during missions, allowing rapid response and precise manoeuvres for hoisting or winching operations during rescues.

The H145 is highly stable, essential for precise hoisting or hovering during rescues. Its advanced avionics, weather radar, and night vision capabilities improve situational awareness in adverse conditions.

SAR-configured, it comes with search equipment like searchlights, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, and radar systems, aiding in locating and identifying distressed individuals, even in challenging environments.

Many SAR-configured H145s are equipped with winch or hoist systems, allowing for the safe extraction of individuals from difficult-to-reach locations, such as cliffs, mountainsides, or water.

The helicopter can be fitted with a cargo hook, enabling external cargo operations for tasks such as the transportation of rescue equipment or supplies to remote areas.

Sikorsky HH-60W

The HH-60W ‘Jolly Green II’ Combat Rescue Helicopter is the U.S. Department of Defence’s dedicated combat rescue platform. It builds on the U.S. Air Force’s decades-long legacy in combat rescue and enhances the critical combat search and rescue fleet.

The HH-60W Jolly Green II replaces the ageing HH-60G Pavehawk, designed specifically for the Air Force’s combat rescue mission, meeting fully-vetted operational requirements.

The next-generation helicopter enhances survivability during personnel recovery missions, day or night, in adverse weather, and various threat environments. It empowers Air Force Combat Rescue Teams to fulfil their mission of “That Others May Live” and “Leave No One Behind.”

The HH-60W, based on the UH-60M Black Hawk, enhances capabilities for combat rescue and special missions. It meets the U.S. Air Force’s long-range, high-threat needs, doubling fuel capacity without auxiliary tanks, offering robust weaponry, defensive systems, and sensors.

Sharing 100 per cent commonality with UH-60M systems, it’s a sophisticated rotorcraft at an affordable overall cost.

It features advanced digital design, open architecture for mission systems, air refuelling, enhanced survivability, cabin and cockpit armour, and expanded main fuel capacity to 644 gallons. These technologies meet today’s Combatant Commander demands and emerging Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) requirements.

The helicopter boasts an expanded performance profile, extended range with increased fuel capacity, advanced survivability features, and enhanced net-centric connectivity, making it a formidable asset for various missions.

Leonardo AW101

The AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter used for various roles, including search and rescue. It is in service with several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Denmark.

The helicopter excels in Personnel Recovery missions, providing swift medical aid and personnel extraction in challenging environments.

Renowned among SAR customers globally, it offers superior range, endurance, and flexible cabin capacity, accommodating up to 38 troops, 16 stretcher casualties, or vehicles like Quad Bikes and Tactical All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

The AW101’s Personnel Recovery capacity supports first-response medical assistance and personnel extraction in hostile environments. Defensive Aids solutions identify and suppress threats, while crew-served weapons provide fire support. Tactical communications integrate the aircraft into the digital battlespace for voice, data, and video communication.

Combined with a three-engine configuration and 30-minute run-dry transmission, under the protection of a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS), this ensures the highest standards of safety.

Airbus H225

The H225, part of Airbus’ Super Puma/Cougar family, boasts a remarkable track record with over 5.8 million flight hours in harsh conditions worldwide, including severe icing and challenging maritime environments. The military variant, H225M, has excelled in demanding Combat SAR (CSAR) missions.

H225 avionics and autopilot systems reduce crew workload while enhancing safety, especially in the most demanding mission conditions, through enhanced situational awareness and automatic modes or protection.

The flight crew enjoys real-time power margin display and automatic features like low-level level-off, collision avoidance, vortex ring protection, rig approach, search pattern, transition to hover (trans-down), and fly-away capability.

The H225 features an upgraded glass cockpit and full de-icing certification for severe icing conditions, ensuring top-notch all-weather capabilities.

The helicopter is ideal for missions like transport, SAR, law enforcement, firefighting, medevac, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and aerial work. It’s widely selected for SAR by 20 countries, including the military H225M variant.

It excels in SAR with quick takeoff, all-weather performance, and extended range, providing ample cabin space for missions.

Cockpit crews benefit from SAR modes with search patterns and an automatic transition to hover with one-metre precision, starting from any flight attitude.

Kamov Ka-32

The Kamov Ka-32 is a versatile helicopter known for firefighting, search and rescue, and more. It features a unique coaxial rotor system and is in use globally.

The helicopter excels in diverse missions, including surveillance, search and rescue, passenger and cargo transport, medical evacuations, firefighting, and construction operations.

Ka-32’s airborne equipment provides safe flight control both along air routes and in off-the-airway regulated and unregulated airspace, day and night, and in adverse weather conditions. The helicopter can carry various types of special and optional equipment.

This helicopter offers precise hovering for installation tasks, a high hovering ceiling, excellent handling, and maximum safety with single-engine flight and landing capability.

Bell UH-1Y Venom

The UH-1Y Venom is an upgraded version of the classic UH-1 Huey helicopter and is used by the United States Marine Corps for various missions, including search and rescue.

The UH-1Y Venom surpassed the UH-1N Huey in combat radius, endurance, power, and speed.

The Bell UH-1Y Venom, part of the H-1 upgrade programme for the U.S. Marine Corps, is a twin-engine, medium-sized utility helicopter. It entered service in 2008, replacing the ageing UH-1N Twin Huey fleet introduced in the early 1970s.

The UH-1Y Venom evolved from the UH-1N Twin Huey of the 1970s, merging its successful airframe with modern avionics and propulsion. It incorporates off-the-shelf technology and shares 85 per cent of replaceable components with the AH-1Z Viper, despite serving different roles.

This commonality reduces production, maintenance, and operational costs.

Deliveries began in 2008, with full-rate production starting in 2009. The U.S. Marine Corps aimed to acquire 160 of these helicopters by 2016. Originally planned as remanufactured UH-1Y helicopters, they were later decided to be newly built.

The UH-1Y Venom is powered by General Electric T700-GE-401C turboshaft engines, offering a continuous output of 1,550 shp, with a brief 1,800 shp surge for 2.5 minutes. Equipped with composite four-blade main rotor blades capable of withstanding 23 mm cannon hits, it delivers enhanced performance, carrying 125 per cent more payload, higher speed, and 50 per cent longer range than its predecessor.

The helicopter boasts digital systems like helmet-mounted sights for night and infrared vision, along with a modern FLIR target system for all-weather conditions. It can carry eight fully equipped soldiers and offers modular versatility for roles like medevec and cargo transport.

Leonardo AW139

The AW139 is a medium-sized helicopter used for search and rescue operations by various countries. It offers good versatility and performance.

Configured jointly for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and SAR missions, it combines advanced technology, safety design features and superior performance as well as a wide range of dedicated role equipment. Category A with Performance Class 1 certification allows it to operate safely.

The helicopter is designed with safety in mind, meeting certification requirements and offering crashworthiness features. Its integrated avionics, digital glass cockpit, and Obstacle Proximity Lidar System (OPLS) enhance pilot awareness. Optional ice protection systems are available.

The spacious cabin can be configured for SAR and Medevac missions, accommodating up to four stretchers. It offers workspace and optional access to a separate baggage compartment for stowing equipment.

It can accommodate up to five medical attendants and two stretchers longitudinally and transversally, along with a full suite of the most advanced life-support equipment, allowing complete access to the patient. The large sliding doors on each side enable easy stretcher loading, both on the ground and in flight.

Mukamalah Aviation, a major Middle East operator of Leonardo helicopters, uses AW139s and AW109 light twins for offshore transport missions in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sector. Their AW139 fleet includes 24 units, with three more coming this year.

The AW139 is a highly successful helicopter programme with over 1,300 orders from 290 operators across nearly 90 countries. It offers state-of-the-art avionics, exceptional performance, and a large cabin with modular features and enhanced reliability.

NHIndustries NH90

The NH90’s NATO frigate helicopter (NFH) is a versatile maritime weapon system, designed for ship-based operations in all conditions. It excels in anti-submarine (ASW) and anti-surface (ASuW) warfare and can perform search and rescue operations in these configurations.

Complementary roles at which NFH is extremely effective include maritime surveillance and control, airborne warning control, logistic transport and utility support, vertical replenishment (VERTREP), casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) and special operations (SpecOps/SOF) — including counter terrorism and anti-piracy.

The NH90 can be configured with anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and sonobuoys and can be equipped simultaneously with both an anti-ship missile and a torpedo.

Advanced navigation and ship landing aids ensure safe landings day or night, even in adverse weather. The NFH has carried out missions across various regions, showcasing its effectiveness as a naval helicopter.

NHIndustries and partner companies delivered the first NH90 to the Spanish Air Force in 2020, enhancing their SAR and CSAR capabilities.

The helicopter is particularly suited to operating in hot and high conditions and proves to be a real asset to the critical missions performed by the Spanish Air Force.

The German Navy received its final NH-90 Sea Lion helicopter in February 2023, primarily for utility and SAR missions, replacing the Sea King. It also serves in reconnaissance and situational awareness role.

The helicopter’s composite fuselage has fewer parts and a lower structural weight, resulting in 30 per cent more endurance compared to a metallic fuselage, plus increased resistance to battle damage — among other benefits. The rotor blades have greater fatigue strength, damage tolerance and component lifetimes.

Vital Assets

Overall, SAR helicopters are indispensable assets in emergency response, playing a pivotal role in saving lives by swiftly locating, assisting, and evacuating individuals in distress from challenging and remote locations.

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