For 55 years, the helicopter that answers the phone in a Washington crisis has had two rotor blades and a whup-whup-whup that Washingtonians know by heart. On Monday 2 November 2026, its replacement finally showed up for work.
A grey HH-60W Jolly Green II landed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and taxied past rows of blue-and-white UH-1N Hueys to an arrival ceremony in front of a hangar full of guests. It is the first of 26 HH-60Ws planned to replace the base’s ageing Huey fleet, and the first assigned to the new 5th Helicopter Squadron.
Afterburner covered the decision back in August, in The Huey’s Last Days Over Washington. That was a plan on paper. This is a helicopter on the ramp.
Quick Facts
- What: First HH-60W Jolly Green II delivered to Joint Base Andrews
- When: Monday 2 November 2026, with an arrival ceremony
- Unit: 5th Helicopter Squadron, 316th Wing (activated 27 August 2026)
- Plan: 26 HH-60Ws to replace the base’s UH-1N Hueys
- Replaces: UH-1N Huey, at Andrews since 1971
- Training: Sikorsky familiarisation training for Andrews crews from 2027
- Timeline: Initial capability 2029, full capability 2030
Keys, paperwork and a new patch
The handover was suitably military. According to official US Air Force photo captions from the event, Col. Kevin Geoffroy, commander of the 316th Operations Group, handed the keys of the first Jolly Green II to Lt. Col. Jonathan Bonilla, commander of the 5th Helicopter Squadron. A DD 250 Material Inspection and Receiving Report, the form that formally accepts a delivered item, changed hands too.
Col. Karl Seekamp, the 316th Wing and installation commander, gave the opening remarks. In the wing’s account, the HH-60W brings a new generation of Air Force rotary-wing capability to the nation’s capital for the first time in 55 years.
The 5th Helicopter Squadron itself is barely two months old. It was activated on 27 August, the first new Air Force helicopter unit at Andrews in 60 years. Its job is to build the HH-60W fleet and train the crews, while the veteran 1st Helicopter Squadron keeps flying Hueys so the round-the-clock mission never has a gap.
Why the Huey had to go
The UH-1N has flown from Andrews since 1971. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported in August that the 1st Helicopter Squadron had traced the maintenance records of three of its 26 Hueys straight back to the Vietnam War. Spare parts are getting scarce, and the magazine noted the fleet’s mission-capable rate slipped below 75 percent in 2024.
The mission does not forgive an unreliable helicopter. The Andrews squadrons support government contingency operations, assistance to civilian authorities and the transport of senior leaders, according to the Air Force. In plain English: if something terrible happens in Washington, these are the helicopters that move the people who run the country.
The Jolly Green II is a very different animal. Derived from the UH-60 Black Hawk and built as a combat rescue helicopter, it has four rotor blades, a larger airframe and more fuel than the Huey. The wing says it offers nearly three times the airlift capability, WJLA reported. It also has a glass cockpit that the 1st Helicopter Squadron’s director of operations likened to a Tesla next to the Huey’s stick shift.
FOX 5 Washington DC’s report from 2 November 2026 on the new helicopter fleet coming to Joint Base Andrews.
A slow handover, on purpose
Do not expect the Hueys to vanish from the Potomac skyline next week. Beginning in 2027, designated Andrews aircrews will receive familiarisation training from certified Sikorsky crews, then qualify as instructors for their squadron mates, according to the wing. The Air Force is aiming for initial operational capability in 2029 and full operational capability in 2030.
The aircraft themselves come from the Air Force’s backup inventory of rescue helicopters, after budget and programme pressures led the service to drop the MH-139 Grey Wolf it originally planned for the job. It is also a neat piece of recycling: the HH-60W replaced the HH-60G Pave Hawk in the rescue world, and now it is taking over from the Huey in the capital.
For now, Washington gets both. The 1st Helicopter Squadron’s Hueys will keep clattering over the Capitol and the Pentagon while one grey newcomer learns some of the most tightly controlled airspace in America. The Huey has had a 55-year head start. The Jolly Green II has four years to catch up.
Sources: US Air Force / DVIDS (316th Wing arrival imagery and captions, 2 Nov 2026), AF.mil, WJLA 7News, Air & Space Forces Magazine, FOX 5 Washington DC, Wikipedia (Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk)
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