Philippines receives first batch of 32-unit S-70i Black Hawk helicopter order

 

One of the S-70i Black Hawl helicopters for the PAF being unloaded from the An-124-100 transport aircraft. Photo c/o Polish Embassy in the Philippines.

The Polish subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, PZL Mielec, has successfully delivered the first batch of five Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk combat utility helicopters for the Philippine Air Force on 16 June 2024.

The helicopters were delivered by an Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan civilian heavy transport aircraft and were flown from PZL Mielec’s facility in Poland to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.

An order for 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters in combat utility variant was made in 2021 by the Philippines’ Department of National Defense (DND) as part of a PHP31.75 billion (US$577.3 million) contract with PZL Mielec. This project is part of the Philippines’ military modernization program under its Horizon 2 phase covering years 2018 to 2022.

The DND previously announced that PZL Mielec will deliver 5 units in 2023 and 10 units each for   2024 and 2025, and the remaining 7 units by 2026, although this could have been pushed back by at least 1 year.

The Philippine Air Force already received an initial 16 units of the S-70i Black Hawks from 2020 to 2021, although one was involved in fatal crash. The PAF also has an older S-70A-5 Black Hawk helicopter used as a Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter and was part of an order in the mid-1980s. 

Upon completion of delivery of all 32 helicopters, the PAF is expected to be largest operator of Polish-built S-70i Black Hawk helicopters in the world, and it is expected that the PAF as well as other branch services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines may order additional helicopters in various configurations including Search and Rescue (SAR), VVIP, Special Operations variants, and additional Combat Utility helicopters.

[1] MaxDefense Philippines

[2] Inquirer

[3] Philippine Defense Resource