Pakistan to Return the Tail of Stealth Helo

May 16th, 2011 Defense.org

Well, it looks like the tail of the secret stealth helicopter used in the raid to kill Osama bin Laden will make it back to the United States after all. For a while there, many were concerned that the tail section of the craft would find its way into the hands of longtime supplier of Pakistani military gear, China. Instead, the tail will be returned to the U.S. tomorrow, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), announced today.

From Fox News website:

The tail of the disabled Navy chopper left behind in the Usama bin Laden raid in Pakistan will be handed back to the United States sometime Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Kerry announced Monday during a trip to Islamabad.

The senator, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Pakistan since the May 2 raid, also issued a joint statement with Pakistani officials saying the two nations have agreed to work together in any future actions against “high value targets” in Pakistan.

Granted, Pakistan has been in possession of the tail (and smaller pieces of wreckage) for about two weeks now. That’s plenty of time for the ISI, PAF and any of their international allies to analyze, sample and document the coatings, facets and inner workings of the stealthy tail assembly. Still, in-depth reverse engineering the tail will be tougher without the actual hardware.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials remain tight lipped on the bird. All they’ll say is that it was a highly modified MH-60 Black Hawk. Until we see an actual airframe, it’s still anyone’s guess as to whether this is true or not.