Sikorsky delivers 5,000th H-60 helicopter
Sikorsky has been delivering the latest UH-60M variant to the US Army and various international militaries since 2006. (Photo: US DoD)
The Black Hawk has been in service for over four decades, but both the US Army and Sikorsky believe the helicopter will have a role for at least another 40 years.
Sikorsky has delivered the 5,000th H-60, a UH-60M Black Hawk for the US Army, as the Lockheed Martin company celebrates its 100thanniversary this year.
Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo said in a 20 January statement: ‘The Black Hawk and its variants deliver when reliability and performance are non-negotiable. Hawk aircraft continue to demonstrate their versatility and readiness with the latest technological advancements and ongoing US and global investment in the aircraft.’
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the Black Hawk is one of the most widely deployed helicopters in military service, with other variants used by the USAF, USCG, USN and numerous export customers.
The Sikorsky H-60/S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter, which entered US Army service in 1979 as the UH-60A Black Hawk. This version was succeeded by the UH-60L in 1987.
Since 2006, Sikorsky has been delivering the latest UH-60M variant to the US Army and various international militaries.
The UH-60M is designed to offer reduced pilot workload, increased lift, better protection and enhanced survivability for aircraft and crew, while the USAF MH/HH-60G is for special operations and SAR.
‘Even though the helicopter has been around longer than most of the soldiers it now supports, the army plans for it to be in front-line service [for] another 40 years and beyond,’ Col Calvin Lane, the utility helicopter project manager for the Program Executive Office Aviation added in the Sikorsky statement.
Although the US Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme is set to replace around 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters from 2030 onwards, it does not serve as a one-to-one replacement - it will take over the roles the Black Hawk carries out.
Sikorsky said as the US Army’s Future Vertical Lift aircraft are fielded, ‘the Black Hawk will remain the foundational tactical air assault and utility aircraft for the US Army. Modernisation efforts that improve Black Hawk availability and reliability by lowering direct operating costs.’
Last February, the company flew its first uninhabited, optionally piloted vehicle (OVP) UH-60A/S-70 Black Hawk testbed helicopter that was powered by Sikorsky MATRIX autonomy technology.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) [USA]
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Air Warfare
-
![France earmarks further $11.6 billion for missiles and drones amid rearmament push]()
France earmarks further $11.6 billion for missiles and drones amid rearmament push
The revised funding allocation will see up to 23% of the additional budget put towards stockpiles of munitions, with the country’s GDP spending expected to reach 2.5% by 2030.
-
![First GCAP contract marks milestone for Edgewing, while UK waits on further funding]()
First GCAP contract marks milestone for Edgewing, while UK waits on further funding
The design and development contract is set to run until the end of June and will now enable the partnership to drive the programme forward as it targets its 2027 demonstrator date.
-
![UK SMEs remain vulnerable in effort to help build sovereign capabilities, JCNSS report warns]()
UK SMEs remain vulnerable in effort to help build sovereign capabilities, JCNSS report warns
The report comes as heads of industry bodies warn that the delayed defence spending plan has left smaller and medium sized businesses in stasis, unable to plan or seek out further investment.
-
![Norway revitalises effort to acquire a tactical-class UAV with $103 million competition]()
Norway revitalises effort to acquire a tactical-class UAV with $103 million competition
Norway first scoped the requirement in 2022, and included it in a defence strategy document in 2023. The announcement of a new framework agreement appears to have breathed fresh life into the effort.
-
![March Drone Digest: Long-range, low-cost loitering munitions are changing warfare economics]()
March Drone Digest: Long-range, low-cost loitering munitions are changing warfare economics
The effective use of the Shahed-136 in the Iran war has highlighted the need for countries to acquire a domestically produced, low-cost, long-range loitering munition, with the US, Turkey and European nations all at various stages of developing a similar capability.
-
![Franco-German alliance aims to resolve FCAS woes by end of April as dispute rolls on]()
Franco-German alliance aims to resolve FCAS woes by end of April as dispute rolls on
The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.
