160th SOAR photo - AH-6Js - carrier takeoff

AH-6J Little Bird attack helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), armed with M134 miniguns and 7-tube FFAR rocket launchers, take off from an aircraft carrier.

The 160th SOAR - otherwise known as the Night Stalkers - have operated Little Bird attack helicopters from maritime platforms on a number of occasions.

These include Operation Prime Chance, a campaign in the Persian Gulf between 1987 and 1989.

During a series of attacks on Iranian naval forces, MH-6 Little Birds would scout out targets for AH-6 gunships, both of which were operating from a converted barge.

A more recent example is Operation Celestial Balance in 2009, in which AH-6 helicopters, based on an aircraft carrier, attacked a terrorist convoy in Somalia.