During the recent Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA’s) 2025 Warfare Symposium, Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky
offered a Subject Matter Expert or SME in David “Rum” Morgan to discuss the ongoing deployment of the United States Air Force
’s newest rescue helicopter in the Sikorsky HH-60W Jolly Green II.
Based on the UH-60M Blackhawk
As Morgan shared with Simple Flying, the HH-60W Jolly Green II is based on the Sikorsky UH-60M Blackhawk model with a glass cockpit. One can watch a Lockheed Martin introduction YouTube below:
The UH-60M Blackhawk is the latest base variant of the H-60 Blackhawk family, which is
already 50+ years strong
.
Related
50 Years Of The Black Hawk Helicopter
The Black Hawk’s rotors are designed to withstand extreme conditions, including medics & direct arms fires, making it a powerful lifeline in combat.
See, the UH-60M subfamily does comes with the same reliable H-60 design but with the following improvements:
- Modern glass cockpit
- Open systems architecture to allow plug-and-play equipment
- Composite wide-chord rotor blades with more survivability and lift
- Carry 4,080 kg/9,000 lbs. of supplies as an internal or external load.
- Carry up to 12 personnel
- Improved wide chord, all-composite rotor blades which generate additional 470 pounds of lift
- Exhaust pointed up to reduce heat signature to protect against infra-red missiles and have cooler landing zones.
All that capability has been baseline for the HH-60W Jolly Green II, and then new composite armor has been added as well as improved countermeasures, improved missile detection sensors, and a weather radar. Below is a sizzle reel about the Jolly Green II:
But there’s more – especially in the area of fuel.
Fuel capacity a Jolly Green II priority
For example, the Jolly Green II’s predecessor in the HH-60G “Pave Hawk” had in-cabin fuel tanks to extend range. That’s now 644 gallons internally and not in the cabin thanks to reinforcement of the Jolly Green II from the Pave Hawk’s internal 360 gallons. The Jolly Green II gets safer and more capable with a new internal crash-resistant fuel tank that replaces the internal box tanks which took up 18 inches of cabin space.
As one can see above, the Jolly Green II can accept aerial refueling as per the USAF photos from the first test flight. In this case, a Lockheed Martin HC-130J
Combat King II
is providing the gas. One can learn about the Combat King II below:
With aerial refueling, the Jolly Green II can fly any distance necessary to retrieve downed aircrew or other personnel who need a medevac.
How modern HH-60W Jolly Green II avionics help enable rescues
As Morgan shared with Simple Flying, the Jolly Green II is going from “old steam gauges” to four flat-screen multi-function displays. One can see an official US Air Force photo such below:
Photo: Airman 1st Class Spencer Kanar | 377th Air Base Wing | US Air Force
These displays display the same information as the Pave Hawk did, but as Morgan explained,
“If you wanted something extra, you had to go elsewhere or handheld tablet to get that information. Now with the multi-function displays all that information is there with the touch of a button. I can bring up a different page with different information. I can put the FLIR on one page. I can put the aircraft symbology on another. I can customize it the way I want, including where the survivor is and where the threats are. That’s got a Blue Force tracker.”
In short, the Jolly Green II pilots can have enhanced situational awareness. Morgan also emphasized that the Jolly Green II can accept survival radio signals from satellites to find downed aircrew. In return, the avionics, like the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), can look at the location automatically. Additionally, there is support to verify that the persons to be rescued are authenticated.
But what about the enlisted support personnel in the back?
As Morgan explained to Simple Flying, each HH-60W Jolly Green II flies not just with a pilot and co-pilot, but also two special mission aviators. The position used to be called flight engineer or crew chief, but now are special mission aviators responsible for many tasks such as manning the .50 cal machine guns and 7.62 mm minigun as placed on the Lockheed Martin model at AFA Warfare Symposium photographed below:
The Jolly Green II also carries pararescuemen (PJs) who are trained to swim, fight, and provide emergency medical care to paramedic standards. PJs can apply an IV, treat wounds, and provide other emergency care while the Jolly Green II is racing to a proper hospital if need be.
HH-60W Jolly Green IIs Already Inciting Bravery
Sikorsky’s HH-60W Jolly Green II is planned to have 95 examples built with the 60th one recently delivered, enough to fill not just the regular force but also replace most if not all of the USAF Air National Guards’ contingent of Pave Hawks – so at least that part of the Air Force is being recapitalized. The possibility of export orders was hinted at by Morgan also. But to Morgan, the HH-60W is already impressive for as Morgan explained,
“They love the fact that this aircraft, …the availability and reliability this aircraft provides, is great.”
With that, there is a history to continue. One should note that former Congressional candidate and published author MJ Hegar made the Pave Hawk famous through her campaign ads, her book “Shoot Like A Girl” and this American Veterans Center story:
“These Things We Do That Others May Live” is part of the pararescue legend helicopters like the Jolly Green II enable. As Hegar shared in her book, when the Danish Special Forces in Afghanistan needed a rescue – it was the “Pedros” of the Air Force Pave Hawks that saved them. So the Danes said, “Pedros, you have given my Vikings brave inspirations today. Thank you.” In response, the expeditionary rescue squadron got the unofficial motto “Fortis Incito,” or Latin for “incite bravery.”
One can only hope today’s and tomorrow’s Jolly Green IIs, named after the Jolly Greens of the Vietnam War, will also incite bravery. Already, they’ve done rescue rehearsals in Africa, and in December 2022, according to a 406th Air Expeditionary Wing statement, HH-60W Jolly Green IIs and HC-130J Combat Kings teamed up to rescue personnel in time to get the two casualties to trauma surgeons, saving the two souls.
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