Official US Navy HSM 72.2 Death Howler Patch

Official US Navy HSM 72.2 Death Howler Patch — Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72, Detachment 2 Embroidered Patch

The Death Howlers hunt beneath the waves—HSM-72 Detachment 2, taking the fight to submarines and surface threats from the flight deck of their assigned warship.

Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72 (HSM-72), the "Proud Warriors," is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, operating the MH-60R Seahawk—the world's most capable naval helicopter and the U.S. Navy's primary platform for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and maritime domain awareness from surface combatants. HSM-72 Detachment 2 (72.2), bearing the "Death Howler" identity, represents one of the squadron's independently deployable detachments embarked aboard a guided-missile destroyer or cruiser.

The MH-60R Seahawk is equipped with the AN/APS-153 multi-mode radar, AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) dipping sonar, sonobuoy processing and deployment capability, the AN/ALQ-210 Electronic Support Measures system, and Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensors. The aircraft can deliver MK 54 lightweight torpedoes, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets, making it a lethal hunter-killer platform against submarines and surface vessels alike. Each HSM detachment typically consists of two MH-60R aircraft and approximately 25 aircrew and maintainers who deploy as an organic aviation asset of the ship's combat team.

HSM-72's lineage traces to the original Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) helicopter concept that placed ASW-capable helicopters aboard surface combatants to extend the ship's sensor and weapons reach far beyond the horizon. The Proud Warriors and their detachments deploy worldwide as part of carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and independent surface action groups, conducting the anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions that protect the fleet from undersea and surface threats in every ocean.

Perfect For: HSM-72 Proud Warriors members and veterans, HSM-72.2 Death Howler detachment personnel, MH-60R Seahawk community members, Naval Station Mayport aviators, surface combatant shipboard aviation crews, and anti-submarine warfare enthusiasts.

The Death Howlers of HSM-72.2—hunting threats above and below the waves from the pitching deck of a warship, carrying the Proud Warrior spirit to every ocean on the globe.