El Paso Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel said the return of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to its Air and Marine Operations aids capability to accomplish its missions.
The CBP’s Air and Marine Operations El Paso Air Branch (AMO El Paso) had not flown the UH-60 Black Hawk since 2008, officials said, noting the aircraft would replace older UH-1N “Huey” helicopters that will be retired and sold.
“The speed and range of the UH-60 platform is a game-changer for AMO El Paso, where distance and terrain often impact our operations,” John Stonehouse, director of CBP’s El Paso Air Branch, said. “The versatility of the UH-60 helicopters will give the El Paso Air Branch the ability to rapidly respond to law enforcement emergencies with a tactical team, or to medical emergencies with EMTs on board. This asset can also be deployed during natural disasters to assess damage and to transport supplies, emergency personnel, and injured victims.”
The Black Hawk helicopters would enable AMO El Paso to get to a location faster, remain longer, and carry more people, systems, or cargo in all kinds of weather, adding mission scopes would include aerial patrols, external lift operations such as sling loads, fast rope and rappel operations, insertion of agents into otherwise inaccessible terrain, search and rescue and aircrew rifle operations.