Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of personnel with the 41st Rescue Generation Squadron working on an HH-60W at Moody AFB, Ga. on June 2, 2025.
The U.S. Air Force is looking to replace the Link-16 TacNet Tactical Radios (TTRs) by RTX‘s Collins Aerospace on the service’s fleet of Lockheed Martin HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search and rescue helicopters.
The Air Force said in a Monday business notice that it plans to replace those radios with L3Harris Technologies’ KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminals.
“This upgrade is necessary to address validated requirements for advanced capability and cryptographic modernization,” according to Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and special operations forces directorate. “The current TTR is not currently capable of incorporating these required updates, which will lead to the HH-60W being denied access to the Link-16 network and facing significant operational limitations and supply challenges.”
“This modification will resolve these issues by providing a modernized, compliant, and sustainable Link-16 capability, ensuring HH-60W crews can operate effectively in modern contested environments,” according to AFLCMC.
The HH-60W entered engineering manufacturing and development (EMD) in 2014 and full-rate production in April 2023.
In fiscal 2023, the Air Force planned to reduce its planned buy of HH-60Ws from 113 to 75, but the service now plans to buy 89 production helicopters across seven lots, and funding “is available to procure 100 aircraft, including the four EMD, five system demonstration test article, and two modernization test aircraft,” according to the service’s fiscal 2026 budget request.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.
