04/15/2014: These images show various US Army helos deployed to South Korea using amphibious ships as lily pads for going from shore to ship and back again. They are not designed for ship operations; they are not “marinized” in any way. And they are not compatible with shipboard systems of various sorts.
But the pictures do show the ability to jump off and on amphibious ships. The Army helos were NOT part of the joint amphibious training of the South Koreans, the USMC and the Aussies.
According to a MARFORPAC source:
The Army did not play in this exercise.
Prior and after they asked to train on both the ROK and US ships because they have a NEO mission to train for and never have the opportunity to get on these ships.
There only requirement is shore to ship and back and have not been cleared for at sea operations.
Their helos are not marinized or are they good at landing in rolling seas (safety)…hence only operations at the pier or close to shore.
[slidepress gallery=’army-helos-jumping-on-and-off-of-amphibious-ships’]
Credit: USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) :4/11/14
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In the first photo, a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, takes off from the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Bonhomme Richard is the flagship of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and is conducting joint force amphibious operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Commander, Amphibious Squadron Eleven
- In the second photo, an AH-64D Apache Longbow Attack Helicopter, assigned to 4th Aerial Reconnaissance Battalion (Attack), 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6)
- In the third photo, a CH-47F Chinook tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter, assigned to 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6)