Official HSM-78 Blue Hawks Tail Flash Patch

Official HSM-78 Blue Hawks Tail Flash Patch — The Newest Hawks in the Maritime Strike Community

The Blue Hawks are the Navy's newest MH-60R squadron, and they've already proven they're among the best.

Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 78 (HSM-78) — the 'Blue Hawks' — was established on March 1, 2012, at NAS North Island, San Diego, as the Navy's newest MH-60R Seahawk squadron. Assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 as part of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, the Blue Hawks conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, electronic warfare, search and rescue, and maritime security operations from the flight decks of aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. The Blue Hawks' name dates back to the Vietnam-era Helicopter Attack Light (HAL) squadrons that served honorably in the conflict. In 2021, HSM-78 deployed with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group on the historic first deployment with the F-35C and CMV-22 — the 'Air Wing of the Future.' The squadron has been awarded the Admiral Jimmy Thach Award for outstanding achievement in naval aviation, the Battle E twice, and the CNO Aviation Safety Award. This tail flash patch captures the Blue Hawks' identity — the fierce hawk that represents the all-weather, day-and-night lethality that HSM-78 and the MH-60R bring to naval warfare.

Perfect For: HSM-78 Blue Hawks aircrew and maintainers, MH-60R Seahawk community members, CVW-2 and NAS North Island personnel, and anyone who has served with the Blue Hawks.