Video compiled by the United States Marine Corps shows a Bell UH-1Y Venoms Super Huey helicopter firing a barrage of tracer rounds at targets during a training exercise in Arizona. The footage features night-vision visuals of the chopper in action with hundreds of rounds raining down on the training compound.
The exercises were conducted in April 2017 at Yodaville, a makeshift town built by the U.S. Army in Yuma, Arizona. The site is used specifically for large-scale bomb, missile and target practice.
U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) engage targets during an urban close air support (UCAS) exercise as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 2-17 at Yodaville, Yuma, Ariz., April 7, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Daniel D. Kujanpaa)
The helicopters featured in the videos were part of the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1). Pilots were practicing engaging targets during an urban close air (UCAS) exercise.
The UCAS exercise is “designed to focus on specific employment of tactical air and rotary wing offensive air support aviation assets in order to support the ground combat element scheme of maneuver,” according to U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Daniel D. Kujanpaa, who created the video.
Check out the video below:
The UCAS exercise focuses on specific tactical air and rotary wing offensive maneuverers. Pilots learn advanced techniques in aviation support and asset protection, and work in coordination with troops on the ground during combat to offer support.
The exercise is just one element of the complex Tactics Instructor Course (WUT) intended for experienced Marines. The program is an advanced, graduate-level course for select fixed-wing, rotary-wing and tiltrotor pilots and enlisted aircrew, according to Fighter Sweep. The seven week training emphasizes operation integration of the six functions of Marines Corps aviation (Offensive Air Support, Anti-Air Warfare, Assault Support, Air Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare, Control of Aircraft and Missiles)
U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) engage targets during an urban close air support (UCAS) exercise as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 2-17 at Yodaville, Yuma, Ariz., April 7, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Daniel D. Kujanpaa)
The makeshift town in the middle of the Arizona desert used for the training was originally envisioned by Major Floyd Usry. The manufactured buildings that make up the complex are recycled shipping containers and represent structures that reach as high as four stories.
The town gets its name “Yodaville” from Usry’s callsign. The complex has been in use since 1999 and is part of the larger Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range which is primarily used by the United States Air Force.
