Welcome to the summer 2025 issue of the Aircraft Survivability journal (ASJ). In this issue, we focus on the longstanding connection between survivability engineering and the mission of aeromedical evacuation (medevac). Since the first use of a helicopter in combat—a daring medevac rescue in Burma during World War II—U.S. aviation developers, researchers, and others have worked to enhance the survivability and performance of the aircraft charged with transporting our injured warriors from the battlefield. And it’s remarkable how the primary engineering challenges and priorities of 80+ years ago continue to have relevance for the survivability community today—namely, the never-ending need for more speed, range, power, payload capacity, and protection.
One notable example of the survivability-medevac connection is the Navy’s Aircraft Survivability Equipment Readiness Team (ART), which was established in response to the tragic loss of a CH-46E and its crew during a casualty evacuation (casevac) mission in Iraq in 2007. In this issue, ART Leader LT Philip Tanner discusses the history, responsibilities, and recent activities of the team as it helps ensure aircraft and aircrews remain protected, prepared, and ready for the next mission, whatever it may be.
In our feature article, UH-60 medevac pilot COL Bryan Munsch provides a first-person perspective on the story of Cutty 75 (also from Iraq in 2007), when his rotorcraft was struck by enemy fire while transporting critically injured Iraqi police officers near Baghdad. That COL Munsch was able to continue to fly and then safely land his heavily damaged helicopter is a testament not only to the skill and training of his aircrew and him but also to the decades of hard work survivability practitioners and others have put into the Black Hawk.
In addition, Mr. Eric Edwards provides a historical overview of the birth and growth of medevac missions and platforms as demonstrated throughout past U.S. conflicts, as well as the important role these vehicles have played, and are expected to continue to play, in the ongoing survivability story.
Eric himself is also recognized by Mr. Ron Dexter for his longstanding Excellence in Survivability. As Ron notes, though Eric’s name may not be a familiar one to many in the community, he’s worked behind the scenes for more than 35 years as a technical publications editor, writer, and trainer—including serving as the ASJ’s Managing Editor for the past 9 years. Thus, he’s been influential in helping the survivability and related communities “tell the stories” of their important research, development, test, and evaluation work.
Also included in this issue is an article from Mr. Charles Crowder from the National Ground Intelligence Center highlighting the U.S. Army Center of Excellence for Attack Scene Investigation and Battlefield Vehicle Forensics Program. For more than 20 years, the program has supported the force modernization community, senior-decision makers, and deployed combat personnel with characterizing combat incidents of Intelligence interest to help identify the threat weapons used in attacks, determine their lethal effects, and make focused research and threat mitigation recommendations.
Finally, be sure to check out our recurring News Notes, JCAT Corner, and Calendar of Events sections to keep up with the latest JASP, JCAT, and other survivability-related news and events.
Thank you again for reading, and don’t miss future ASJ issues, which are planned to discuss recent developments in fire and ullage research and testing, different organizational aspects of cyber survivability, survivability model updates, and more.
Sincerely,
