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Replacing the Hueys

Minot AFB, other ICBM bases closer to getting new helicopters

Submitted Photo The MH-139, shown in this photo from Boeing, is replacing the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys that provide security and support for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fields in North Dakota and other states. The new helicopter with its new livery will be unveiled at a ceremony at Duke Field, Fla., this week.

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE – Minot Air Force Base and other intercontinental ballistic missile bases are getting closer to having new helicopters to replace the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys.

The helicopters provide security and support for the nation’s ICBM missile fields spanning North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. The missile fields are missions of missile wings at Minot AFB, F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and Malmstrom AFB in Montana.

Other missions for the helicopters include civil search and rescue capabilities, airlift support, National Capital Region missions, and survival school and test support, Air Force Global Strike Command officials said.

On Thursday, a ceremony will be held at Duke Field, Fla., where Global Strike Command will accept the first delivery of the Huey’s replacement, the MH-139A helicopter, and announce the name of the helicopter. The new helicopter is the first major acquisition in Global Strike Command’s 10-year history, according to command information.

Gen. Tim Ray, commander of Global Strike Command, will initiate the naming ceremony. Air Force senior leaders and key industry officials are expected to attend the event.

Submitted Photo The MH-139, shown in this photo from Boeing, is replacing the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys that provide security and support for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fields in North Dakota and other states. The new helicopter with its new livery will be unveiled at a ceremony at Duke Field, Fla., this week.

The MH-139 was acquired from Boeing through a competition at a cost of $2.38 billion for up to 84 aircraft.

The day before the unveiling and naming ceremony Global Strike Command will stand up Detachment 7, with Lt. Col. Mary Clark as commander, at Duke Field to support testing and evaluation of the new helicopters.

The detachment will work in conjunction with Air Force Materiel Command’s 413th Flight Test Squadron – the Air Force’s only dedicated rotary test unit. Detachment 7 is comprised of pilots and special mission aviators, Global Strike Command officials said.

The unit resides in temporary administrative and hangar facilities at Duke Field. Eventually the detachment will move to Malmstrom AFB, Mont., to perform additional testing and evaluation of the helicopters.

Detachment 7 will manage four helicopters, with the first scheduled to be delivered on Thursday at the naming and unveiling ceremony. The second aircraft is due to arrive mid-January 2020, while the third and fourth aircraft are scheduled to arrive in February 2020, Global Strike Command officials said.

To prepare for the new helicopters, a Helicopter Operations and Tactical Response Force Facility will be constructed at Minot AFB. The project will house all the operations and maintenance for the helicopters and the tactical response force that responds to the missile field.

According to Sen. John Hoeven’s office, the funding for Minot AFB’s new helicopter facility was authorized under the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and $66 million has been appropriated so far. “An additional $5.5 million for the facility is authorized in the FY 2020 NDAA, which we expect to pass Congress next week, and we also expect that amount to be appropriated in the Senate’s FY2020 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill. We continue working to pass full-year funding bills, including this one.”

In addition, construction on Minot AFB’s helicopter facility is expected to start in the spring of 2020 and be complete in the spring of 2022, Hoeven’s office said.

In regard to the replacement for the UH-1N Huey helicopters, Hoeven’s office said, “We’re working to secure approximately $170 million in FY2020 to support the continued development of this aircraft and will fund its procurement in future fiscal years. The Air Force plans for the MH-139 to reach its initial operating capability in 2023, and we expect Minot to begin receiving 11 MH-139s in that timeframe. Minot currently has 8 UH-1N Hueys.”

“The MH-139 exceeds mission requirements, it’s also ideal for VIP transport, and it offers the Air Force up to $1 billion in acquisition and lifecycle cost savings,” said David Koopersmith, vice president and general manager of Boeing Vertical Lift, when Boeing was awarded the contract in September 2018.

The MH-139 derives from the Leonardo AW139, which is used by more than 270 governments, militaries and companies worldwide. Leonardo assembles the helicopters at its northeast Philadelphia plants, with Boeing integrating military-specific components at its facility south of that city, Boeing officials said.

The contract also includes operations, maintenance, training systems and support equipment for the MH-139 aircraft.

The aircraft will provide vertical airlift and support the requirements of five Air Force major commands and operating agencies: Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Force District of Washington, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Materiel Command and Pacific Air Forces. Global Strike Command is the Air Force lead command and operational capability requirements sponsor.

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