The Air Force's new HH‐60W “Jolly Green II” helicopter is heading on its inaugural deployment as Air Force leaders continue to debate how many of the aircraft it will buy.
The deployment comes a month after it was used for its first-ever rescue mission to help an airman in Florida.
Details of the deployment being undertaken by airmen from the 347th Rescue Group from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, were not shared by the service, but the base bragged about the “first-ever deployment” in a brief Facebook post on Wednesday.
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“The future of AF Rescue is secure, and our team is ready to recover anybody, anytime, anywhere, against any adversary,” 23rd Wing commander Col. Russell Cook said in the post.
The HH-60W, built by Connecticut-based Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky, is the service's updated replacement to the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk search-and-rescue helicopter, and its deployment is a notable achievement after being first tested out by the Air Force in 2019.
The Air Force originally planned to purchase 113 HH-60Ws, but cut that number down to 75 in its 2023 budget request, according to Breaking Defense. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters during a roundtable on March 25, that the withdrawal from the Middle East and the focus on adversaries such as China shifted some priorities.
“The scenarios that we're most worried about are…
