A unique aerial transport operation had been unfolding in the Pacific Northwest this week. The U.S. Marine Corps was prepared to sling-load a retired U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian jet (based on the French Dassault Falcon 20 business jet) from Astoria, Oregon, to Tillamook, Oregon, under the U.S. military’s most powerful helicopter — the new CH-53K King Stallion. The 50-mile journey would have delivered the retired jet from the Coast Guard Air Station in Astoria to the Tillamook Air Museum for final display. Unfortunately, this will not happen after the HU-25 was damaged during a sling-load test, but at least the jet technically took to the skies, however briefly, one last time.
The news of the aborted mission came today from the great folks from Port of Astoria Regional Airport. Marines had placed straps around the HU-25, and the CH-53K lifted it into the air to make sure the load would hold up for the 50-mile flight. Apparently, once the jet was sat back down on the tarmac, it became clear that the lift had damaged its structure significantly and it would no longer be able to make the flight to the museum. The images below show the crumpled wing root area from the test lift.
The plan was for the CH-53K and an MV-22 Osprey, both from VMX-1, the USMC’s premier air combat test and development unit, which you can read all about in our previous feature here, to both make the flight from Astoria to Tillamook, along with a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk, a handful of which are based at Astoria.
The operation was seen as a valuable training and test event for the USMC, which has to do these types of recoveries both in peacetime and especially during a conflict. For a fight in the Pacific, being able to rapidly pluck stricken aircraft from remote locales will be a critical capability on many levels, for instance. The three-engined CH-53K, which just entered service in 2022, is the undisputed heavy-lift king within the U.S. military’s stable.
The HU-25 entered service with the USCG in 1983 and served for over three decades, doing everything from search and rescue to drug interdiction missions. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria was one of the type’s bases. The HU-25 in question has been at the installation since its retirement over a decade ago.
It isn’t clear if the lift will be reattempted anytime in the future. It’s possible the aircraft could be partially disassembled and delivered via roadway instead.
We will keep you updated if new info about the HU-25 airlift mission emerges.
Contact the author: [email protected]