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Goodbye, Little Bird: Special Operations Command to replace legendary helicopter

U.S. Marine Corps photograph by SSgt. Artur Shvartsberg, MAWTS-1 COMCAM/Released.

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According to the U.S. Special Operation Command’s (USSOCOM) acquisition executive, James Smith, the unit’s Little Bird helicopters might be experiencing their final years as America’s light special operations helicopters.

Smith made the statement during the NDIA Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Symposium, which took place last February. He indicated that the most likely replacement for the venerable Little Bird would be a variant of the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Capability Set 1. The FVL program aims to upgrade the Army’s light, medium, and heavy-lift helicopters.

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Comments

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  • Brett S

    Good old LOACH. The platform has distinguished itself. Think about how good a machine is when they keep using variants of it for half a century. We still see (and hear) Hueys everywhere. The Marines won’t let go of their 1Ys.

  • Alan t

    AH56 Cheyenne
    Check it out

  • CJR

    Interested to see what the new unit will look like. Simple tools are the hardest to replace without overcomplcating the mission.

  • Mason

    A great “little” platform, but I am interested in some new platforms being investigated. Did see one article where someone is building these “as new” with a lot of upgrades and improvements as part of the FVL program.