Posted on May 27, 2024
In Japan, a US squadron's future in limbo with Air Force plans to cut MH-139 buy - Breaking...
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The lone UH-1N Huey helicopter squadron in the Indo-Pacific is facing an unknown future after the US Air Force halved its planned acquisition of the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters in fiscal 2025.
The 459th Airlift Squadron located at Yokota Air Base plays an unglamourous but important role in the Asia-Pacific, using the Vietnam-era Huey helicopter as well as white-tailed C-12 cargo planes to transport VIPs across Japan and to shuttle patients to US-owned military hospitals.
But after the Air Force reduced its planned MH-139A program of record from 80 to 42 helicopters, the squadron is left without an eventual replacement for the UH-1N and current plans only fund the 459th’s Hueys through fiscal 2026, said Lt. Col. Samuel Shamburg, the squadron’s commander.
The 459th Airlift Squadron located at Yokota Air Base plays an unglamourous but important role in the Asia-Pacific, using the Vietnam-era Huey helicopter as well as white-tailed C-12 cargo planes to transport VIPs across Japan and to shuttle patients to US-owned military hospitals.
But after the Air Force reduced its planned MH-139A program of record from 80 to 42 helicopters, the squadron is left without an eventual replacement for the UH-1N and current plans only fund the 459th’s Hueys through fiscal 2026, said Lt. Col. Samuel Shamburg, the squadron’s commander.
In Japan, a US squadron's future in limbo with Air Force plans to cut MH-139 buy - Breaking...
Posted from breakingdefense.com
Posted 1 mo ago
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