Night Stalkers: The unit involved in the Venezuelan operation – and so much more
A large number of US military aircraft have been arriving in the UK – with some having taken off from bases like Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
This is home to – among other units – the US Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, better known as the Night Stalkers.
While speculation is mounting as to what these aircraft may be doing in Europe, let's take a closer look at what the 160th is known to have been involved in.
From fast and agile to heavily armed
Night Stalkers helicopters took part in Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, as the regiment is dedicated to providing air support to US special forces operations.
Night Stalkers personnel train to carry out operations at night, at high speed and at low level. They specialise in assault and reconnaissance tasks.
They have taken part in every major conflict the US has been involved in since the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
The unit uses MD500 Defender helicopters for light reconnaissance. These are small, fast and agile, and date back to the Vietnam War-era Hughes OH-6 Cayuse.
It also operates Black Hawks and Chinooks as well as Reaper drones.
These helicopters are highly modified from the standard variants, being heavily armed with improved defence suites, advanced optics in terrain-following radar and air-to-air refuelling probes.
Growlers first
During the mission into Caracas in Venezuela, they were the central focus of more than 150 aircraft involved in suppressing the anti-aircraft defences that the Maduro regime bought from the Russians.
Any one of these surface-to-air missile systems could have had a devastating effect on a helicopter, so the US jammed the Venezuelan radars using EA-18G Growler aircraft flying from the carrier USS Gerald R Ford.
Then F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors flying out of Puerto Rico struck key targets, aiming to neutralise the air defence systems and delay any Venezuelan military response.
One heli hit, but the mission goes on
This allowed the Night Stalker helicopters carrying the extraction force to fly over the capital city.
A formation of at least nine Chinooks and Black Hawks were seen removing the Venezuelan leader from the country.
They were engaged with surface-to-air fire, including at least one missile. One helicopter was damaged, but it continued the mission.
Their destination was the helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima waiting off the coast.
Night Stalker pilots are selected from amongst the US Army's best aviators.
Every crew member goes through a specialist selection course where they train on multiple weapon systems, plus tactics, medical treatment and navigation.
The 160th was involved in the actions portrayed in the films Black Hawk Down and Lone Survivor, and the US capability shown in the attack on Caracas is impressive.
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