The HH-1H, originally designed for local air base rescue, was delivered to the Air Force in the early 1970s. It is the single-engine version of the Huey helicopters first flown in 1956, then modified into more than 15 different models over the last 30 years.

The UH-1N is a light-lift Air Force utility helicopter used for support of Department of Defense contingency plans. Its primary mission includes airlift of emergency security and disaster response forces, medical evacuation, security surveillance of off-base movements of nuclear weapons convoys and test range areas during launch conditions. The UH-1N is capable of flight in instrument and nighttime conditions. The crew complement is normally two (pilot and copilot), but may be flown single-pilot depending on weather and mission requirements. The crew complement for hoist, over water and navigational operations is three, adding a flight engineer.