WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force accepted its first MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter Thursday, paving the way for the replacement of the aging UH-1N Huey helicopters that have patrolled missile fields for almost five decades.

Air Force Global Strike Command head. Gen. Timothy Ray announced the name of the aircraft during a ceremony commemorating the first M-139 delivery on Dec. 19 at Duke Field, Florida.

Boeing won the $2.38 billion Huey replacement contract in September 2018. The company’s offering — a militarized version of the commercial AW139 helicopter made by Italian firm Leonardo — beat out Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Sierra Nevada Corp. in an upset.

Both Lockheed and SNC had proposed UH-60 Black Hawk derivatives, but Boeing shaved $1.7 billion off the Air Force’s expected program cost to nab the award. As such, the Grey Wolf is the first Air Force helicopter to be of a completely different airframe than ones owned by the other services.

Gen Timothy Ray just announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Grey Wolf." pic.twitter.com/pbdv0EgWAO — AFGSC (@AFGlobalStrike) December 19, 2019

So far Boeing has received an initial $375 million award for the first four helicopters and the integration of military-specific items necessary for the AW139 to meet the Air Force’s requirements. The company will deliver a second Grey Wolf in mid-January, with the third and fourth aircraft following in February.

The formal designation of the MH-139 comes a day after the Air Force stood up the first detachment, which will be supporting test and evaluation of the helicopter. Lt. Col. Mary Clark took command of Detachment 7 during a Dec. 18 ceremony at Duke Field.

According to Air Force Global Strike Command, Detachment 7 will own four helicopters and will be comprised of pilots and special-mission aviators. The detachment will be temporarily located at Duke Field before moving to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.

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The Air Force plans to buy 84 helicopters over the course of the program. The aircraft will be used for a wide variety of missions, including defending intercontinental ballistic missile fields, search and rescue, and missions in the capital region.