A career Army officer from northern New Jersey was killed in this week’s massive suicide bombing in Afghanistan, officials said.

Helicopter pilot Col. John McHugh, 46, was among five soldiers — including two lieutenant colonels — killed Tuesday in the attack in Kabul, the Pentagon said.

McHugh, a 46-year-old West Caldwell native, was a married father of five who had recently become a grandfather.

He graduated from James Caldwell HS in 1982 and went on to the US Military Academy at West Point.

“He was a pre-eminent leader, even as a kid,” a friend, Gerard Giannetti, told the Star-Ledger of Newark. “Very calm in a crisis. He married his high-school sweetheart, and defended his country.”