Not many are aware that Team Six, US Navy Seals, used some of the worlds most secretive and advanced technology during their raid in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, to kill the worlds most wanted fugitive, Osama Bin laden. No wonder they had to destroy one of the choppers that crashed there to prevent
super secret technology from falling into the hands of the Pakistanis.
Here’s at peek at some of that technology….
Customised Blackhawk helicopter
Part of the chopper that was destroyed by the Navy Seals. Though the troops blew up the stricken craft to preserve the secrecy of the technology on
board, part of the tail landed outside the walls and survived to show this was no ordinary Blackhawk.
The tail rotor of the American helicopter found in Abbottabad, which seems to be equipped with a cover, bears some hallmarks of a possible secret
aircraft not known to the public. Experts agree the helicopter could indeed a modified version of the UH-60 Black Hawk named “Stealth Black Hawk”.
Courtesy wordpress
The tail rotor had extra blades, which would have made it much quieter than the standard design. Similar modifications to the main rotor would
have further silenced the approach.
And according to Aviation Week, the "silver loaded" paint job would have also made it difficult for infra-red sensors to detect the helicopter. This
would have been particularly useful if Bin Laden had been armed with heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles.
Was it a modified CH-47 Chinook or a modified MH-60?
Here's what a Black Hawk looks like:
And the modified stealth version. Check out the stealth shape, rotors and the foldable undercarriage:
Courtesy: David Cenciotti and Ugo Crisponi of Aviation Graphic
Though the chopper was destroyed, there is the danger the stealth technology might fall into the hands of the Pakistanis.
Transformer TX
This one’s used for ferrying the Special Forces such as the Seals, around on the toughest terrain. The Transformer TX has a range of 250 nautical
miles on a single tank of fuel.
The Transformer TX resembles a jeep with a helicopter rotor on the roof. It also has folding wings to generate extra lift and allow vertical take off
and landing for four troops and their gear.
Lockheed RQ-170 Sentinel
Lockheed-Martin-RQ170-Sentinel
atisgroupltd
Popularly known as the
Beast of Kandahar this Unmanned Arial Vehicle, or drone is a stealth UAV. It does not carry missiles, but reports
suggest that it was used as a surveillance and reconnaissance platform to monitor the Seals’ operation in Abbotabad, Pakistan. It is capable of live
feed back in full motion video to commanders via satellite. Seals on the ground may also have been able to monitor the feed via their portable
displays, effectively allowing them to see the round corners of the compound.
Helmet mounted color video camera that transmits to ground station (In this case one of the choppers or the RQ-170) that further transmits to
operations control room via satellite.
Militaryphotos
As per reports, this stealth drone could also have been used to keep tabs on Bin Laden’s house in the months before the operation, without alerting
Pakistani radar. That also brings out the possibility of its operating altitude being in excess of 60,000 ft or thereabouts.
And one of the Seals’ K-9s equipped with a Canine Tactical Assault Vest, that took part in the Abbotabad raid…..
Militaryphotos
Apart from the 9mm SIG Sauer P226, the M4A1 5.56 mm and the AK-47, they also use shotguns, machine guns (MK43 and M2HB), and the HK MP5 9mm submachine
gun series, among others. Add to that list sniper rifles such as the M88 .50 PIP and the M-14 sniper rifle, along with grenade launchers, mortars and
AT4 anti-tank rockets.
Here’s one of the very versatile weapons used by the Seals, the SOPMOD M4
Special Operations.com
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