United States MH-6 Little Bird Fleet Update

Two MH-6/AH-6 Little Bird helicopters operated by the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were destroyed at a forward arming and refueling point in Isfahan Province, Iran. The helicopters had been deployed as part of the combat search and rescue operation to recover the downed F-15E weapons systems officer. When two MC-130J transport aircraft became stuck on the ground, the extraction plan was disrupted. The Little Birds, which may have been transported inside the C-130s or flown in independently, could not be recovered during the hasty evacuation. U.S. forces destroyed them in place alongside the immobilized MC-130Js to deny any intelligence value to Iran.