From the MH-6 light attack assault “Little Bird,” to the MH-60 medium attack assault “Blackhawk,” to the MH-47 heavy assault “Chinook,” officials who develop the aircraft showcased ongoing upgrades Thursday at the Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week.

Developers continue to tweak the Little Bird, the small but powerful aircraft unique to SOCOM.

“It is your streetfighter,” said Paul Kylander, product manger of the aircraft for Program Executive Office-Rotary Wing. “When operators want to get to your front door, this is the aircraft they use.”

The “R” model project is finding ways to lighten the aircraft for greater speed and range by resetting the entire fleet’s fuselage with lighter materials.

The project is also upgrading the cockpit for better avionics management and an advanced airborne tactical mission suite, Kylander said.

Those upgrades are part of ongoing efforts that will continue until 2034 for the aircraft. Then, plans call for a Block 4 upgrade or a possible divestment between 2035 to 2042.

They’re also lightening main and auxiliary fuel tanks and both the attack and assault planks for the aircraft.

The MH-60 is seeing some of its own upgrades.

Software updates, navigation tools for degraded visual environments, improved sensors, sensor data fusion and next generation tactical communications are currently being installed on the MH-60 fleet, said Lt. Col. Cameron Keogh.

There’s ongoing work to improve the engine life of the YT706 engine, and future efforts include building an open architecture common cockpit.

On the weapons side, the Blackhawk is adding the joint air-to-ground missile, a conformal lightweight armament wing, M-230 recoil dampers, the GAU-19 Gun Pod and a helmet display tracking system.

Those additions provide more options to Blackhawk crews.

“Having a quiver full of tools to do your job is pretty handy,” Keogh said.

The Blackhawk will also see an improved crew chief seat, AN/PQ-187 Silent Knight Radar nose door reconfiguration and upturned exhaust suppressor II, engine inlet barrier filter for dusty environments and the GE T901 Improved Turbine Engine.

On the heavy side, the MH47G Chinook is seeing increased demand for payloads, range and speed, said Lt. Col. Thomas Brewington, product manager for the Chinook at the PEO.

The oldest frame in the Chinook fleet will retire soon after 59 years of service, Brewington said.

But the aging platform is seeing its own set of advancements with a replacement of the existing flight control pallets, which augment manned flight by using a system called the Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem.

The system “augments manned flight by providing tactile cueing to prevent the pilot from exceeding an aircraft performance limit resulting in increased safety and operational usage while reducing pilot workload during the most critical stages of flight,” Brewington said.

An October 2024 test of the system allowed a “hands off” landing on a predesignated point by a Chinook crew at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Brewington said.

The system is a “stepping stone” to autonomous pilot assist, he said.

Officials who develop and procure all the gear that touches the body of an operator laid out that initiative and a host of other items they plan to upgrade or replace in the next few years here on Wednesday at the Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week conference.

“We’re putting concussion sensors on every operator pretty soon,” said Adam Fields, product manager for Program Executive Office SOF Warrior’s protection systems.

The blast exposure monitoring system they’ll need to track that data is planned to arrive over fiscal years 2026 to 2029, Fields said.

At the same time, Fields and other leaders at the executive office will follow the practice of refreshing, or recompeting, contracts for specific gear every five years.

That timeline means that this year the PEO is looking to replace the ground helmet and maritime communications accessories.

Next year, they’ll be looking at new gloves, ruck sacks, hard armor for their body armor kits, land communication accessories and a new coxswain helmet for boat crews.

Farther out, their plan calls for replacing outer shell type environmental protection, think jackets and coats, especially for cold weather, in 2028.

Also, in 2028 they’ll be looking to replace or upgrade body armor vests.

Within those replacements, they expect to field lighter body armor that will defeat armor-piercing rounds. They want the same protection out of lightweight ballistic helmets and add improved bump protection, comfort, stability and heat management.

They’ll also reach full fielding of the new casualty evacuation kit system by fiscal year 2026.

Beyond personal gear, the team is also looking for autonomy and arctic kits for most all their ground vehicles, which range from the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to the MRZR all-terrain vehicles.

SOCOM is also in the process of swapping the MRZR-D for the MRZR-A. The “D” version sports a diesel engine while the “A” model uses the same base package but adds exportable power for charging and powering devices.

Within those devices the PEO officials are looking at a series of new capabilities for their electronic gear and other items.

Those include militarized USB-C connectors, increased energy density for next generation batteries, multi-spectrum signature reduction, flame resistant material for uniforms, sound localization in headsets and heated technology to protect against frostbite and other environmental factors.

At the annual Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week, Special Operations Command officials who develop aircraft shared these and other updates that are needed from its largest to smallest platforms.

For one key platform program, the MC-130J Combat Talon III, operators envision the aircraft as a nexus in the battlefield, connecting the lowest-level operator on the ground with space, air and even commands in the homeland.

To do that, the MC-130J will need some new capabilities. They are currently testing terrain following and avoidance technology that includes dynamic retasking.

They’ll also need networked data from the aircraft systems to work with satellite communications, radio signals, data links and data fusion across multiple platforms.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the aircraft requires upgraded radio frequency countermeasures and considerably more processing power for all of the data streaming in.

Next steps include a capability release that will include tactical mission route replanner technology, along with tactical flight management and defensive countermeasures, as well as embedded training systems to simulate more complex missions.

Beyond those capabilities, operators are looking to extend the range and reach of the aircraft, improve its communication systems, advance its defensive systems, increase its payload capacity for diverse mission sets and precision airdrop and landing capabilities, said Lt. Col. Andrew Sturgeon, head of mobility for Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing.

The recently named OA-1K Skyraider II is also on the upgrade list, as SOCOM wants modular sensor payloads and weapons enhancements for the propeller-driven airplane, said Lt. Col. Shawna Matthys, who heads the integrated strike program.

For both the Skyraider and the AC-130J Ghostrider, officials are looking for longer-ranging weapons systems for contested environments, air-launched loiter munitions and collaborative weapons options, Matthys said.

Across the entire strike portfolio, which touches nearly every fixed-wing platform, Matthys said those munitions need increased automation and autonomy, advanced navigation and sensing and secure, resilient communications, along with modular payload effects.

That gives operators more options for targeting and destroying targets on various missions.

For its drones, such as the MQ-9A and the MQ-1C, special operators seek hardened data links and communications, “easily adaptable autonomous behavior profiles,” the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce data link bandwidth requirements and the use of autonomy for the entire kill chain, said Brandi Evans, head of airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for PEO-Fixed Wing.

Beginning this month, the office’s adaptive airborne enterprise program will look to give operators multi-aircraft control interface software, increase survivability and integrate autonomy onto existing systems, Evans said.

For manned ISR platforms, such as the U-28 and DHC-8 (STAMP), officials are looking to improve sensors, integrate all-weather capabilities and automate aspects of aircraft operation to reduce crew workload, as well as edge data processing.

From surface vessels to dive gear, undersea vessels and dive shelters, officials with the Special Operations Command Program Executive Office-Maritime laid out their needs Tuesday at the annual Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Force Week.

Thirty of 31 combatant-craft medium boats have fielded in recent years, and the next steps for the vessels are under the CCM-Mk 2 program. That will potentially see a suite of launched effects, such as short-range rockets or electronic warfare means added to the boats.

Those launched effects fall under a program known as maritime precision engagement, basically adding a precise-strike capability to the vessels.

With those launchers, the CCM — and its cousins, the Combatant Craft Heavy and Combatant Craft Assault — are all set to add Forward Looking Infrared devices to the entire fleet. The Navy has 84 such FLIR devices for just that effort.

The SOCOM Program Executive Office-Maritime fielded 42 combatant craft assault vessels between 2014 and 2023, said Cmdr. Nick Van Dyke, head of surface systems.

For the CCH, three have been fielded, with two more on deck in the production phase, Van Dyke said.

Alongside those surface vessels, the team is looking for unmanned options for both short-endurance and long-endurance missions. Those types of vehicles autonomously navigate waters at various distances, monitoring traffic or delivering sensors, or eventually, payloads.

The SOCOM maritime team wants 13 short-endurance and 12 long-endurance autonomous unmanned surface vessels by fiscal 2027.

Later this week, the team plans to put out a request for information to industry for a smaller, unmanned, undersea vessel that can fit into a submarine lock in/lock out chamber.

That vessel could accompany the Seal Delivery Vehicle Mk 11, of which 10 have been delivered to SOCOM between 2018 and 2024.

The Mk 11 upgrades from the legacy Mk 8 include improved software, accurate navigation, increased range and increased cargo capacity, said Cmdr. Mike Linn, head of the undersea portfolio for PEO Maritime.

The maritime team is also looking to replace the Dry Deck Shelter, five of which are in operation and have been in operation for decades. The Dry Deck Next project kicked off in 2024 and is expected to span the next five years, looking at various ways to improve upon the older shelter, said Eric Moore, head of special mission systems for maritime.

Those improvements include remote payload launch and recovery, pressure hull, hanger outer door closure system and reduced signatures for less detection.

“Special Operations have never been more important in our country,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the annual Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Force Week in Tampa.

Hegseth noted that over the past three years SOF-specific missions have risen by 200%. And over the past six months, SOF units have killed 500 enemy combatants and captured another 600 in operations throughout the globe, Hegseth said.

That increase was coupled with a 35% surge in deterrence support that has been requested of SOF units and Special Operations Command.

The head of that command, Gen. Bryan Fenton, echoed his boss’ comments, stressing the asymmetrical nature of what the force does.

“We’re the scalpel, but if the time comes we can bring the hammer,” Fenton said. “We’re tailor-made for this era … where asymmetry matters more than it ever has.”

Those advantages will wither, however, without the right technology — part of the pitch for this conference connecting industry entities with special operations planners.

“We can’t and we won’t fight today’s opponents at yesterday’s pace,” Hegseth said.

That means rapid adaptation and evolving capabilities.

The defense secretary called rapid fielding, innovation and feedback critical for SOF success.

Fenton noted that adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and terrorist organizations are “fusing” their efforts to work collaboratively.

The four-star said that with the increase in missions also comes more challenges as an ever-growing portion of the areas in which they operate are contested by adversary systems.

Fenton pointed to Sonic Spear, an exercise conducted in April that merged communications, virtual constructions and live training. The exercise tested SOCOM’s ability to host and synchronize all the way from the seabed to low-Earth orbit.

Experts analyzed how SOCOM contributes to the joint force’s ability to sense and strike targets across various spectrums.

“Sonic Spear 25 is our first go at this,” Lt. Gen. Francis Donovan, SOCOM vice commander, told Defense Scoop at a National Defense Industrial Association event in February. “Let’s push our autonomous investments, some other investments we’re making. … What do our forward forces need to be able to control ourselves, control our robots and then link in with the joint force?”

The aim now is to create an O-6 level multidomain special operation task force. The Army has created similar units known as Multi-Domain Task Forces, two for the Pacific theater and one designated for Europe.

Real world scenarios, meanwhile, are showing the need for change.

“If we’ve learned anything from our partners in Ukraine, you innovate in minutes, days and weeks, not years and decades,” Fenton said.

Lt. Col. Tosh Lancaster told the audience at the Special Operations Force Week conference that U.S. Special Operations Command plans to publish a request for information covering a “Javelin light” by late fiscal 2024 or early fiscal 2025.

The program for a tactical precision missile would give small teams of special operators the capabilities of the current shoulder-fired, anti-tank Javelin rocket but in a smaller package.

The Javelin is a 127mm caliber rocket made by Lockheed Martin that’s been in operation since the 1990s. The weapon has been used extensively by Ukrainian fighters in the ongoing war with Russia. It can strike targets at a distance of 65 meters to 4,000 meters, depending on operational conditions, the company has said.

Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and RTX are working together on a Javelin modernization program that will lighten the systems’ command unit and upgrade its missile, according to a 2023 Pentagon test report.

The updated version is expected to field in 2025, Breaking Defense reported.

Special operators are also seeking a so-called Extreme Long Range Sniper Rifle that could also strike targets at 2,500 meters or beyond, Lancaster said. The project, first announced in December, would replace the existing M107 and Mk15 sniper rifles, which have effective ranges of 2,000 meters and 1,800 meters, respectively.

Both rifles are chambered in .50 caliber, but the new one could be the same caliber or a different round, Lancaster said.

“We are opening it up, seeing what else is out there. And even if that is just [an] improvement of our current .50-[caliber] system, that’s fine too,” Lancaster said.

For even more punch and options, the command has expanded its ongoing effort to arm its teams with their own loitering munitions by adding ground robotics to the mix of lethal options.

Lancaster said that program for precision strike systems is now working toward what’s described as unmanned precision effects. That’s a nod to options for operators to use conventional strike or other assets such as electromagnetic attack tools.

Ideally, Lancaster said, the solution for this capability runs on an aerial drone or a man-portable ground robot and has “bolt-on” lethality, meaning operators can attach or install a variety of weapons or sensors to either the ground or aerial system.

Acquisition experts with U.S. Special Operations Command laid out current projects here at the Special Operations Forces Week conference, including the Day and Night Heads Up Display.

“Think of it like Google Glass,” said Lt. Col. Tosh Lancaster, program executive officer for USSOCOM’s lethality programs.

The ballistic eyewear will likely feature augmented reality to feed information into the user’s view that could be used during the day. But it would also pair with existing night vision devices.

Lancaster said the command is interested in displaying only the data needed in the moment and noted that displays must be configurable.

“We want to give them the right information at the tactical edge, already analyzed so they can make quick decisions where they are,” the officer added.

The Army has been working on the Integrated Visual Augmentation System since 2019. The $22 billion program’s device is scheduled for final testing this year. It is a helmet-mounted device that combines thermal, night vision and augmented reality features.

But the ideal eyewear for special operations would be a much lighter, single item that combines eye protection with an information display.

Lancaster also discussed the digital projection close-quarters sight, a short-range weapons optic that would cut the need to mechanically boresight the optic with the weapon. If successful, the new optic would eliminate “thermal drift,” Lancaster said, which is a technical problem where temperature can cause a holographic weapon sight’s point of aim to shift off target by as much as a foot.

Also on the eyewear front, Adam Fields, the program officer for protection and integration with USSOCOM, asked industry for the “magic lens” that would solve many vision device problems for operators. The preferred lens would offer ballistic and laser protection as well as transition from clear for indoors or nighttime use to tinted for daytime use.

That way, Fields said, “I don’t have people with a big bag full of lenses going: ‘Hold on, I got to switch my lens out to the smoke lens because I’m going outside.’ ”