Tennessee’s Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team continues to strengthen its lifesaving capabilities with advancements in aviation technology, including a recent upgrade to the UH-60V Black Hawk.

HART, a state-coordinated program involving the Tennessee Army National Guard and the Nashville Fire Department, provides rapid-response rescue in high-risk environments such as floods and natural disasters. The team includes National Guard aircraft and aircrew and Nashville Fire Department paramedics and rescue divers.

The Tennessee National Guard’s UH-60V “Victor” model Black Hawk helicopter is a major upgrade from the UH-60L “Lima” model. This modernization enhances avionics, flight safety and mission capabilities, particularly in search and rescue operations.

Tennessee received five aircraft from the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Texas, stationing three in Nashville and two in Jackson to support and improve HART operations.

“The new Victor model is a major leap in technology,” said Capt. Adam McCollum, an operations officer at AASF. “The avionics in the legacy UH-60L model date back to 1979.
The Lima model has effectively zero digitization. It’s all traditional gauges with needles and painted numbers, in contrast, the Victor model provides a moving map display, real-time positional awareness, and more intuitive monitoring of engine readings, temperatures and pressures.”

The UH-60V also features an external hoist system and the integration of forward-looking infrared technology, a thermal imaging system that detects heat signatures, allows pilots to track their hoist operators from below through darkness, fog and smoke.

The Tennessee HART team will use the UH-60V’s capabilities during annual training exercises and real-world missions across the state’s rivers, lakes and flood-prone areas.