The MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter that is replacing the UH-1N Huey for the nuclear security mission reached initial operational capability in August, according to the Air Force.

The Hueys have been in use at all three intercontinental ballistic missile bases, including Malmstrom Air Force Base, as well as civil search and rescue, airlift support, National Capital Region missions and survival school and test support.

The Grey Wolf, developed by Boeing and Leonardo, is replacing the Hueys, which have been supporting the Air Force’s nuclear mission for roughly 50 years.

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The transition to Grey Wolf has been more than a decade in the making.

In 2015, the Air Force planned to purchase Army UH-60A Black Hawk models and convert them to UH-60L models using existing government contractor services, according to this reporter’s reporting for the Great Falls Tribune at the time.

In 2016, due to Congressional pushback, the Air Force opted for a competitive acquisition process, opening the bidding process.

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In 2017, the Air Force opened the bidding process and in 2018, awarded the Huey replacement contract to Boeing-Leonardo.

In 2023, the Air Force activated the 550th Helicopter Squadron, a new unit at Malmstrom to support the crew transition and in 2024, the first Grey Wolf arrived at Malmstrom.

In January 2025, the 550th completed the aircraft’s first initial operational test and evaluation flight.

In January 2026, the 40th Helicopter Squadron at Malmstrom conducted the first operational Minuteman III ICBM convoy with the Grey Wolf, escorting maintenance and armored security vehicles more than 100 miles during a six-hour movement without refueling.

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On Oct. 1, Boeing received an award for the first four full-rate production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters following the U.S. Air Force declaring IOC, bringing the total number of MH-139As under contract to 42. Boeing has delivered 27 to date, the company said in a release.

Capt. Jaani Barclay and Staff Sgt. Owen Anderson of the 40th Helicopter Squadron at Malmstrom told The Electric earlier this month that reaching IOC allowed them to focus on the Grey Wolf rather than splitting maintenance and operational duties between the two airframes.

Barclay is a Grey Wolf pilot, who transitioned from the Huey, and Anderson is the noncommissioned officer in charge of weapons and tactics.

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While the unit was working toward initial operational capability, crews went through conversion training but some crews remained on the Hueys, which remained certified to conduct the nuclear security mission.

Now that the Grey Wolf has reached initial operational capability, Barclay and Anderson said the 40th won’t be using the Huey for nuclear security anymore and the airmen who had been operating the Hueys will now go through conversion training, which is happening at Malmstrom and also Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

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Barclay was previously a Huey pilot and has converted to the Grey Wolf, which he said is a more capable aircraft with greater lift and speed, autopilot and improved technology and hoist capability.

Barclay said he loved the Huey, which had no autopilot capability.

The Grey Wolf can carry more passengers, which for the 40th would most commonly be security forces personnel responding to any issues in Malmstrom’s 13,800-square-foot missile complex.

Currently, 11 Grey Wolf aircraft are assigned to Malmstrom.

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A few more aircraft are currently located at Malmstrom from F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming while their hangar is being constructed.

Eight Hueys were assigned to Malmstrom and having the additional aircraft will support operations, Barclay said.

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The aircraft go through varying levels of maintenance: routine and phase maintenance, both of which can be done at Malmstrom, and depot maintenance, which will be done at the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center East in North Carolina, according to a 2023 Navy release.

FRCE also performed depot maintenance, repair and overhaul of the UH-1N aircraft, according to the Navy.

On base, the Air Force contracts with V2X for Grey Wolf maintenance. The Air Force also contracted for Huey Maintenance.

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Typically, at least one aircraft is in depot maintenance and one in phase level maintenance, Barclay said, meaning two aircraft are unusable at any given time.

That leaves the 40th with nine available aircraft for operations and training and more wiggle room should there be any unexpected aircraft issues, he said.

The helicopter squadrons at the other two ICBM bases, F.E. Warren in Wyoming and Minot in North Dakota, are also converting from the Huey to the Grey Wolf, so there’s competition for training slots.

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Anderson said the IOC milestone is the green light to shift all their aircrews to the Grey Wolf, whereas before they had to maintain both airframes and juggle operations, maintenance and training.

Barclay said operations will remain steady, but now that IOC has been reached, it’s relieved some stress on the airmen from managing both airframes.

The majority of the unit has shifted to the Grey Wolf, Barclay and Anderson said, but there are a few crews left for conversion training.

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A few 40th airmen will be starting their careers on the Grey Wolf, they said, versus most who previously operated the Huey or Black Hawk.

When Anderson joined the Air Force five years ago, the service had recently selected the Grey Wolf and he came to Malmstrom specifically to operate the new aircraft.

Barclay has been in the Air Force for eight years and at Malmstrom for two years. He was previously based at Minot.

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Anderson said the conversion was a great learning moment for the airmen, some of whom had 2,000 flying hours and some with 50, a large bandwidth of experience.

The airmen are learning lessons with the Grey Wolf and discovering things daily, Anderson said, which “builds us as a force.”

Barclay that the Air Force had decades of experience with the Huey, with people telling them how to do everything.

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With the Grey Wolf, they’re the first group of officers learning a new aircraft.

“Learning is just a fun experience,” he said.

The improved hoist capability enables the Grey Wolf to conduct rescues in areas that the Huey couldn’t, and others can’t get to.

In late July, the 40th was called to assist a hiker with a medical emergency in the Beartooth Mountains, performing their first hoist rescue in the Grey Wolf, according to the Air Force.

The hiker and her group were nine miles into the backcountry, over rough terrain in a narrow valley at 9,5000 feet. It would have taken all night for search and rescue teams to reach her by ground and available civilian aircraft couldn’t reach her, according to the Air Force.

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An MH-139A Grey Wolf carrying four flight crew members and one medical technician flew about 200 miles with low visibility as wildfire smoke had settled in pockets that moved with the wind.

The hiker’s campsite sat in a stair-stepped glacial basin walled in by peaks rising above 12,000 feet, and the terrain threw the whole bowl into shadow.

The crew put the helicopter into a hover within 25 feet of a stand of pine trees while the medical team rode the rescue hoist to the ground.

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Anderson was on that rescue flight and ran the hoist through the open door with one hand locked on the cable, fighting a rescue basket that spun and rocked on the way down while watching the rotor clearance.

“When I’m on the hoist, I can’t take my hand off of it,” Anderson said in an Air Force release. “I’ve got other things I’m worried about. Make sure the hoist doesn’t hit anything. Make sure the survivor stays in the basket and gets into the aircraft safely.”

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The crew held the Grey Wolf in a hover to bring up the hiker, then medical personnel. They flew the hiker to the rooftop helipad at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, then flew back to Malmstrom through scattered thunderstorms.

Last summer, the 40th performed its first full search and rescue mission using the Grey Wolf to locate and treat a missing hiker in the Beartooth Mountains.

Barclay was the co-pilot on that mission.

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The crew used night vision goggles and infrared capability to locate the hiker in a narrow canyon at night.

In that instance, the helicopter hovered to hoist medical personnel to the ground, who stayed with the hiker while the helicopter flew away to refuel.

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The aircraft returned, but it was determined conditions had deteriorated, making it too dangerous to hoist the hiker and medical personnel out at night, but sent down a bag of additional supplies, according to the Air Force.

The next day, a UH-60 Black Hawk from the Montana National Guard base in Helena extracted the men.

*Air Force photo