Spanish Special Forces train in order to carry out quick aquatic evacuations. That can mean driving a boat full of soldiers into the back of a Chinook helicopter idling over a body of water.
The Spanish Army's Department of Communications has uploaded an incredible video showcasing a quick retrieval of its special forces from a lake aboard a Chinook. In under three and a half minutes the Chinook conducts an aquatic landing, opens its hatch, secures the soldiers' boat after it rides into the helicopter, and takes off.
We have created GIF highlights of the exercise below.
The exercise begins with a Chinook helicopter conducting landing on a lake.
Immediately upon landing, the Chinook opens its back hatch. The interior compartment begins to flood ...
... but the flooding allows the Special Forces to ride their zodiac boat directly into the helicopter.
Upon reaching the back of the Chinook, the Special Forces climb into the helicopter and help pull the zodiac boat aboard.
The boat is then secured to the hull of the Chinook with cables.
Once secured, the helicopter takes off from the lake. All of this takes place in under three and a half minutes.
You can watch the entire exercise below.