Philippines approves plan to acquire 15 additional Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters, push to retire UH-1 Huey fleet

PAF personnel with one of the new Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk combat utility helicopter. Photo c/o Inquirer.net.

 

The Philippine government has announced on 04 February 2021, that it has approved the acquisition of 15 addition Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

According to the virtual press briefing conducted by Philippine Cabinet Secretary Karo Nograles, the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the acquisition of 55 new helicopters, but will only push through with 15 units as the the government spending and the country's economy are battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no mention on the timeline of the procurement plan, or the source and amount of funding to be allocated for the proposal. 

Also, the Philippine government is pushing for the immediate retirement of the PAF's fleet of Bell UH-1 Huey combat utility helicopters, which have been in service for more than 50 years and have been involved in 3 fatal crashes since July 2020.

The PAF has been procuring new combat utility helicopters since 2010, although acquisitions have been in small quantities and has failed to fully replace the PAF's fleet of around 40 ageing UH-1D/H Huey helicopters. These includes 8 units of W-3A Sokol helicopters from PZL Swidnik, 8 Bell 412EP helicopters, and an ongoing delivery of 16 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from PZL Mielec. 

The PAF received 6 of the 16 S-70i Black Hawks in late 2020, with the remaining 10 helicopters scheduled for delivery within 2021.

These is also a plan to acquire at least 16 Mil Mi-171 medium transport helicopters from Russia, but it appears that the project has been stalled due to the Philippine government's inability to avoid CAATSA related issues.




[1] Inquirer.net
[2] CNN Philippines