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This is a list of United States military helicopters.
Name | Role | Manufacturer | Notes | Year of first flight | Introduction | Number built |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Platt-LePage XR-1 | Experimental helicopter | Platt-LePage Aircraft Company | First helicopter tested by the USAAF. [1] | 1941 | Never | 2 |
Sikorsky R-4 | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | World's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces. [2] | 1942 | Unknown | 131 | |
Sikorsky H-5 | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1943 | 1945 | 300 | ||
Sikorsky R-6 | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | World War II | 1943 | 1945 | 225 | |
Kellett R-8 | Experimental helicopter | Kellett Autogiro Corporation | Prototype. Program canceled 1946. | 1944 | Never | 2 |
Bell H-13 Sioux | Light observation helicopter | Bell Aircraft Corporation | Bell 47 variant. | 1945 | 1946 | 2407 |
Bell H-12 | Military utility helicopter | Bell Aircraft | Company Model 48 | 1946 | Never | 13 [3] |
Kellett XR-10 | Military transport helicopter | Kellett Autogiro Corporation | Prototype. Program canceled 1949. | 1947 | Never | 2 |
Sikorsky S-52 | Utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1947 | 1951 | 93 | |
Kaman HH-43 Huskie | Firefighting/rescue | Kaman Aircraft | 1953 | 1958 [4] | 193 | |
Piasecki HUP | Utility helicopter | Piasecki Helicopter | The « Army Mule ». | 1948 | 1949 | 339 |
Hiller OH-23 Raven | Multipurpose light helicopter | Hiller Aircraft | 1948 | 1950 | 2000 | |
McCulloch MC-4 | Light helicopter | McCulloch Aircraft Corporation | Evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-30 and the United States Navy as the XHUM-1. | 1948 | Never | Unknown |
Sikorsky H-19 | Utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1949 | 1950 | 1102 | |
Vertol H-21 | Cargo helicopter | Piasecki Helicopter | 1952 | 1954 | 707 | |
American Helicopter XH-26 Jet Jeep | Experimental tip jet | American Helicopter | 1952 | Never | 5 | |
Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave | Assault Transport | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Large heavy lift helicopter used by the Army designated "Mojave" and Marines nicknamed "Deuce" | 1953 | 1956 | 153 |
Cessna CH-1 Skyhook | Light helicopter | Cessna | Only helicopter ever built by the Cessna Aircraft Company. | 1953 [5] | 1956 | ~50 |
De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle | Experimental rotorcraft | de Lackner Helicopters | Prototype. Program canceled. | 1954 | Never | 12 |
Sikorsky H-34 | Anti-submarine warfare helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1954 | 1954 | 2108 | |
Bell 201 | Experimental helicopter | Bell Aircraft | 1954 | Never | 1 | |
Bell UH-1 Iroquois | Utility helicopter | Bell Aircraft | The UH-1 was in the service of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Nicknamed the "Huey" because the original Army designation was HU-1. | 1956 | 1959 | >16,000 |
Hughes TH-55 Osage | Light utility and trainer helicopter | Hughes Helicopters | Model 269/Model 300 | 1956 | Never | 2,800 |
Sikorsky S-62 | SAR/utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | It was used by the United States Coast Guard. | 1958 | 1961 | 175 |
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King | ASW/SAR/utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | used as the official helicopters of the President of the United States Marine One | 1959 | 1961 | 1500 |
Sikorsky S-61R | Medium-lift transport/SAR helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | The S-61R served in the United States Air Force and in the United States Coast Guard. | 1959 | 1961 | Unknown |
Kaman SH-2 Seasprite | Anti-submarine warfare helicopter | Kaman Aircraft | 1959 | 1962 | 184 | |
Boeing CH-47 Chinook | Transport helicopter | Boeing | 1961 | 1962 | 1180 | |
Sikorsky CH-54 | Heavy-lift cargo helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1962 | 1964 | 105 | |
Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight | Cargo helicopter | Boeing | From 2004, Used only by the United States Marine Corps until 2015 retirement. | 1962 | 1964 | 524 |
Hughes OH-6 Cayuse | Light Observation Helicopter / Utility | Hughes Helicopters | Won a prototype run off between Bell, Hiller and Hughes. The Bell prototype went on to become the OH-58. The OH-6 itself is the parent of the MD 500 and MH-6 variants. | 1963 | 1966 | 1420 |
MD Helicopters MH-6 Little Bird | Light Observation Helicopter | MD Helicopters | Derived from OH-6 lineage; used for special operations in the United States Army. | 1963 | 1980 | ? |
Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion | Heavy-lift cargo helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1964 | 1966 | 500 | |
Bell AH-1 Cobra | Attack helicopter | Bell Helicopter Textron | Was developed by Bell as an independent concept armed helicopter. The majority of parts are interchangeable with the UH-1 series. The AH1-W and Z are used in the US Marine Corps | 1965 | 1967 | 1116 |
Bell 206 | Multipurpose Utility helicopter | Bell Aircraft Corporation | Common prototype with OH-58. | 1966 | 1967 | 7300 |
Bell OH-58 Kiowa | Observation/scout helicopter | Bell Aircraft Corporation | Five versions: OH-58A, OH-58C, OH58C/S, OH-58D, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior | 1966 | 1969 | 2200 |
Bell UH-1N Twin Huey | Utility helicopter | Bell Textron | 1969 | 1970 | Unknown | |
Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne | Attack helicopter | Lockheed Corporation | Prototype. Program canceled 1972. | 1967 | Never | 10 |
Sikorsky MH-53 | Heavy-lift helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft | U.S. Air Force variant of the CH-53. | 1967 | 1968 | 72 |
Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion | Heavy-lift cargo helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | 1974 | 1981 | ~170 [6] [7] [8] | |
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk | Utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Black Hawks have served in combat during conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other areas in the Middle East. | 1974 | 1979 | 2600 |
Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk [9] | Combat Search and Rescue helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | This is another variant of the U.S. Army's UH-60 Blackhawk. | 1974 | 1982 | 101 |
Bell YAH-63 | Attack helicopter | Bell Model 409. Particaped in the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) competition. Lost to the YAH-64. | 1975 | Never | 3 | |
Boeing AH-64 Apache | Attack helicopter | Boeing | Manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas after buyout of Hughes Helicopters. | 1975 | 1984 | 1174 |
MD 500 Defender | Light multi-role helicopter | MD Helicopters | Based on the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse light utility helicopter. Originally developed by Hughes Helicopters. Purchased by McDonnell-Douglas, eventually sold to MD Helicopters. | 1976 | 1976 | 471 |
Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk | Multimission maritime helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk variant. | 1979 | 1984 | Unknown |
Sikorsky HH-60H | U.S. Navy Special Operations and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk variant. | Unknown | 1982 | 112 |
Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin | Search and rescue helicopter | Aérospatiale Helicopter Corporation | Used by the United States Coast Guard | 1980 | 1985 | 102 |
Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite | ASW helicopter | Kaman Aircraft | 1985 | 1993 | Unknown | |
Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche | Reconnaissance and attack helicopter | Boeing/Sikorsky | Prototype. Program canceled 2004. [10] | 1996 | Never | 5 |
Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota | Utility helicopter | Eurocopter | Adapted from the Eurocopter EC145 and built in Columbus, Mississippi. | 1999 | 2006 [11] | 250 |
Bell AH-1Z Viper | attack helicopter | Bell | 2000 | 2010 | 229 | |
Bell UH-1Y Venom | Utility helicopter | Bell Aircraft Corporation | The UH-1Y Venom is currently in full-rate production to replace the UH-1N Twin Huey | 2001 | 2008 | 92 |
Boeing AH-6 | Light attack/reconnaissance helicopter | Boeing Rotorcraft Systems | ULB: September 8, 2004 MELB: September 20, 2006 | In development | Unknown | |
Bell ARH-70 Arapaho | Armed reconnaissance helicopter | Bell Aircraft Corporation | Prototype. Program canceled 2008. [12] | 2006 | Never | 4 |
Piasecki X-49 | Experimental high-speed compound helicopter | Piasecki Helicopter | Prototype under development. | 2007 | 1 | |
Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel | Executive transport helicopter |
| Variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 designed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One presidential transport fleet. In January 2005, the US101 was selected for the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, and was promptly re-designated as the VH-71. However, development was subject to delays, cost overruns, and engineering issues. | 2007 | Canceled | 9 |
X2 | Experimental compound helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft / Schweizer Aircraft | 2008 | Never | 1 | |
Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion | Heavy-lift cargo helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Developed from the Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion. | 2015 | 2022 [13] | 9 |
Sikorsky VH-92 Patriot | Medium-lift transport/utility helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft | Developed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. presidential transport fleet. It is a militarized variant of the Sikorsky S-92. | 2017 | In development | Unknown |
Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant | Compound helicopter | Sikorsky Aircraft / Boeing | Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing entry for the United States Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Army selected the rival Bell V-280 Valor as the winner of the program. | 2019 | Never | ? |
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) did not exist until September 1947. Therefore the Sikorski R4 of 1942 "notes" indicate USAF. Possibly it was meant to be USAAF (U.S. Army Air Force).
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.
The Sikorsky MH-60/HH-60 Pave Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. The HH-60 Pave Hawk and its successor the HH-60W Jolly Green II are combat rescue helicopters, though in practice they often serve humanitarian and peacetime disaster rescue. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic systems program. The HH-60/MH-60 is a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family.
Lists of military aircraft of the United States cover current and former military aircraft of the United States Armed Forces.
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines.
The Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave is an American large heavy-lift military helicopter of the 1950s. It entered service as the HR2S-1 Deuce with USMC in 1956, and as the H-37A Mojave with the U.S. Army that same year. In the early 1960s the designation was standardized to CH-37 for both services, with the HR2S-1 redesignated as CH-37C specifically.
The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavy-lift helicopter operated by the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80, it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, adding a seventh blade to the main rotor, and canting the tail rotor 20°. It was built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Marine Corps. Developed in the 1970s, it entered service in 1981, and is planned to be in service well into the 2030s. It is one of the largest helicopters, and military helicopters in active service, and is operated from ships of the United States Navy or from land.
The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. The HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant" was initially developed to replace the HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant". The U.S. Air Force's MH-53J/M fleet was retired in September 2008.
The CH-53 Sea Stallion is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The Sea Stallion was originally developed in response to a request from the United States Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons made in March 1962 for a replacement for the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave helicopters flown by the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. It is named after Tarhe, an 18th-century chief of the Wyandot Indian tribe whose nickname was "The Crane". The civilian version is the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane.
The Sikorsky H-34 is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and Sikorsky as the later S-58T. This type had a variety of names depending on the role and timing, but included the aforementioned Wessex, Seahorse, Seabat, and Choctaw. Most of the H-34 (S-58) used radial aviation engines, though other powerplants were employed, and the Wessex used predominantly twin gas turbines. Individual versions often had unique names, the type including everything from the U.S. Coast Guard HH-34F Seahorse was used for search and rescue, to the commercial Winnebago Heli-Home, to Canada's CH-126, the USMC it often went by "HUS" after its original designation in that service.
The Sikorsky H-5 is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 (HMH-465) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. The squadron, known as "Warhorse", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302 (HMHT-302), is a United States Marine Corps helicopter training squadron stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Known as the "Phoenix", HMHT-302 trains newly designated Naval Aviators, conversion pilots, refresher pilots, and enlisted aircrew on the CH-53E Super Stallion and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 29 (MAG-29) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
The Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion is a heavy transport helicopter designed and produced by Sikorsky Aircraft. The King Stallion is an evolution of the long running CH-53 series of helicopters which has been in continuous service since 1966, and features three up-rated 7,500 shp (5,590 kW) engines, new composite rotor blades, and a wider aircraft cabin than its predecessors. It is the largest and heaviest helicopter in the U.S. military.
The Sikorsky H-53 is a family of military helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft. H-53 is United States military designation, the company has several designations for it including S-65, S80, and S-95.
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F, nicknamed "Pelican". This article covers several different variants of this type in different roles, one major difference compared to the S-61 was a rear ramp.
Helicopter Combat Support Squadron FOUR (HC-4) was a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. Nicknamed the "Black Stallions", they flew the Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion and MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters.
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 2 , also known as the "Fleet Angels", is a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Station Norfolk operating the Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk. The Fleet Angels are a Fleet Replacement Squadron providing trained MH-60S crew to units on the East Coast.