Navy Hovercraft Played Helicopter Hauler For Florida Air Base
A Navy LCAC hovercraft was used to transport a CH-46 helicopter to Eglin Air Force Base.
A Navy LCAC hovercraft was used to transport a CH-46 helicopter to Eglin Air Force Base.
Evacuations in Kabul will likely be the last major mission for U.S. CH-46 “Phrogs,” which served in this same role in Saigon nearly 50 years ago.
Comparisons between the evacuations of the embassies in Saigon and Kabul are unavoidable and the CH-46 was there for both historic operations.
The U.S.-backed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reportedly fled the country ahead of the Taliban seizing the entirety of Afghanistan’s government.
The State Department’s Air Wing could be critical to keeping Americans safe if the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate.
State originally planned to buy more than 100 S-61Ts to move diplomats and other personnel in high-risk areas, such as Afghanistan, but delays left it with a fleet of less than 20, most of which went straight into storage.
The Department has more than 200 helicopters, aircraft, and small drones, including a particularly shadowy small transport plane.
The contractor-operated service highlights how fragile the security situation remains in even the most heavily protected areas of the country.
Those concerns come as Kabul becomes even more dangerous and amid reports that US officials are hiding key details about America’s longest war.