A U.S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter operated by the 56th Rescue Squadron flies over Aviano Air Base, Italy, Feb. 12, 2020. Airmen from Aviano bid farewell to the Pave Hawk on Dec. 18, 2024, as it flew its final active-duty mission before the base's transition to the HH-60W Jolly Green II. (Thomas S. Keisler IV/U.S. Air Force)
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — U.S. airmen here took their final active-duty flight this week in a rescue helicopter that the Air Force is phasing out after decades of use in saving the lives of American personnel the world over.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk was bid farewell Wednesday by members of the 56th Rescue Squadron and 56th Rescue Generation Squadron, as they get set to join the rest of the service in switching to the HH-60W Jolly Green II and its advanced capabilities.
Retirement of the Pave Hawk has been in the works since 2010. The helicopter is made by Sikorsky, which also produces the Army’s Black Hawk.
Over the years, the Pave Hawk has flown missions ranging from combat rescue to humanitarian aid delivery and disaster response, a U.S. Air Forces in Europe — Air Forces Africa statement said.
It served as the Air Force’s primary combat search and rescue helicopter, pulling off both daytime and nighttime recoveries of service members in hostile environments.
“Today marks the end of an iconic chapter in our Air Force history,” Col. Beau Diers, the 31st Fighter Wing’s deputy commander, said in the statement.
Aviano received its first HH-60W helicopters on December 13 and is scheduled to receive its full order by October 2025.
An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter from the 56th Rescue Squadron lands in Aviano, Italy, Dec. 17, 2019. Aviano Air Base had its last active-duty mission in a Pave Hawk on Dec. 18, 2024, continuing the service's phaseout of the helicopter. (Rebeccah Woodrow/U.S. Air Force)
The Pave Hawk’s replacement has better avionics, threat detection and countermeasures as well as greater fuel capacity, the Air Force statement said.
The Jolly Green II can carry two pilots, two gunners, two paramedics and two litters, while the fuselage can be mounted on either side with .50-caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns, according to the Air Force.
The upgrades reflect a focus on protecting crews and evacuees in hostile environments, Air Force Air Education and Training Command said in a statement earlier this month.
The name Jolly Green II pays homage to the Vietnam War-era Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green and HH-53 Super Jolly Green, whose crews are regarded as the pioneers of aerial combat search and rescue, the Air Force said in 2020.
Because of its size and olive green color, the HH-3E was nicknamed after advertising icon the Jolly Green Giant.
Phaseout of the Pave Hawk began in 2022. The Jolly Green II’s first operational use came in September of that year, when it flew a patient from Valdosta, Ga., to Tampa, Fla., the Air Force said.
In December 2022, the HH-60W debuted in the field with a casualty evacuation operation in the Horn of Africa, according to a Defense Department report.
