A couple of years ago a top secret US helicopter emerged. It is commonly referred as Stealthy Blackhawk or Silent Hawk, however these are not its original names. This helicopter was first observed in 2011 during a raid in Pakistan, that took down Osama Bin Laden. At least two helicopters were used during that raid and carried US Navy SEALs. During the operation one of these helicopters was damaged, became inoperable and made a hard landing. After the operation the SEALs blew it up with explosives. However tail section of the stealthy helicopter survived. There were absolutely no official comments regarding this helicopter. The whole development program and any official details on this stealthy helicopters are kept in high secrecy.
It is believed that these stealthy helicopters have been used by elite special operation forces for years without the public’s knowledge. And it seems that all of their missions were successful, or at least all secret helicopters managed to return to their bases. Black paint of this helicopter, as well as other design features, such as reduced radar cross-section and low noise levels indicate, that these special forces helicopters are intended to operate at night, when it is difficult to spot them. These helicopters operate fast and at very low altitude in order to avoid detection by radars. It seems that these stealthy helicopters used only on highest priority missions.
Stealth helicopters’ used in Bin Laden raid – Source: BBC News
Some say that the ghost helicopter is a heavily modified version of the Blackhawk. However the wreckage of the tail section bears no resemblance to that of the the MH-60 Blackhawk, that is typically used by the US special forces. So likely that this stealthy helicopter has an entirely different design.
The secret and stealthy US helicopters are used only for highest priority missions
It is possible that this stealthy helicopter evolved form the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche. The Comanche was a stealthy reconnaissance and light attack helicopter, developed since the early 1990s. It had a stealthy airframe built largely of composite materials and a number of other advanced features. A couple of working prototypes were built, that demonstrated exceptional performance. At the time the Comanche was a revolutionary step in stealth technology. However the program was cancelled in 2004. The US Department of Defense promised to use its technology for future projects. However an official program for a stealthy transport helicopter was never publicized.
This secret helicopter has special rotor design that significantly reduces noise levels. Wreckage of the tail rotor shows, that this helicopter uses smaller blades. Also the tail rotor is shielded by disk. It looks like noise of this helicopter easily blends into any background noise. The helicopter is so silent, that adversaries might not even react, until it is too late. Neighbors of the Bin Laden told that they didn’t hear the helicopters approaching until they were directly overhead.
The general shape of what was left on the crash site indicates, that the helicopter has harsh angles and flat surfaces. Looks like it is made of special high-tech materials similar to that used in stealthy aircraft. This secret helicopter was obviously designed to have reduced radar cross-section. Its shape and coating absorb and distort radar beams. It is likely that the rotor blades also some kind of radar absorbing or distortion features. Radars of the Pakistani defense forces did not see these helicopters coming in.
This helicopter is operated by a crew of two or three men, including two pilots, and possibly gunner. It can transport around 10-12 fully equipped passengers. Such stealthy transport helicopters allow commandos to sneak up on their target.
Most likely that this helicopter carries some sort of armament to support dismounted troops. It is likely that it has provision for door-mounted machine guns. Also it is possible that it can be fitted with pods with unoperated rockets, as well as and air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, such as AGM-114 Hellfire and AIM-92 Stinger. Rockets and missiles can be carried inside special weapon bays, or on stub wings.
It is possible that this special forces helicopter has an in-flight refueling probe. This feature is present on many American special forces helicopters, such as the MH-60.
It is likely that some parts of the wreckage form the crash site ended up in China or Russia. It is known that both of these countries are trying to make stealth aircraft.
Source: military-today.com
