First MH-139 Grey Wolf Helicopter arrives at Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base is welcoming the arrival of the first of what’s expected to be many MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters to the base.

Wednesday’s arrival is the first to the 908th Airlift Wing, almost two years to the day since the last C-130 cargo plane left.

The airlift wing’s new mission is to be the flight training unit for the MH-139. It will offer air education training command missions, just like Air University offers training for Air Force officers and non-commissioned officers.

The 908th Airlift Wing will train MH-139 crews to fly to defend missile sites in the West and do support in Washington, DC.

This is the first of what may become ten MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters, but there may be adjustments to that number as Congress and the president figure out what the budget will look like.

“What we’ve established the area within 60 nautical miles of Montgomery is a training area that’s going to have landing zones and where we will do aerial training and training out in the countryside in order to train the pilots and flight engineers to operate the aircraft,” Col. Christopher Lacouture, the Commander of the 908th Airlift Wing told Action 8 News.

“So as we get more aircraft delivered and as we start getting students in about a year, there’s going to be more and more aircraft in the air. You’ll see us and you’ll hear us, but we’re not too loud, I promise,” he said.

“I think it’s exciting with the F-35 and now the MH-139 that they’re going to modernize everything here at Maxwell and keep it relevant  for a while to come,” test pilot Maj. Jonathan Palka of the 413th Wing Test Squadron said. Palka is the one who flew the helicopter to Maxwell Air Force Base.

In the time since the last of the C-130s left the unit two years ago, Col. Lacouture says the unit has been busy making preparations, with personnel receiving training at Ft. Novosel (formerly Ft. Rucker) in order to train others. He says the unit will have strategic importance, with many members considered deployable for missile and medical support.

Meanwhile, in February, the Alabama Air National Guard’s new F-35 Lightning II fighter jets landed at Dannelly Field in Montgomery. They will be part of the 187th Fighter Wing.

There will be a total of 20 jets with 1,400 members of the wing that support the jets, along with 40 pilots. It will bring a greater economic impact to the River Region. The first five jets are here now, with the rest due to arrive in the summer.