The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has inducted the final batch of 7 S-70i BLACK HAWK helicopters into service at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
The PAF said the S-70i has enhanced the capability and responsiveness of its rotary-wing fleet and strengthened its capability to conduct air transport, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and other critical air operations.
The helicopters were acquired as part of the Philippines Department of National Defence’s (DND) DND’s Additional Utility Helicopters Acquisition Project, part of the Horizon 2 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Programme. The PAF now has a fleet of 47 S-70i helicopters and is the largest operator of the type in the world. The S-70i’s have replaced the PAF’s Bell UH-1 fleet.
PZL Mielec was awarded a contract for 16 helicopters in 2019, valued at approximately $241 million. Deliveries of these helicopters concluded in December 2021. One of these helicopters was subsequently lost in an accident. The Philippines signed a follow-on contract for 32 S-70i helicopters in February 2022, valued at US$624 million. The order remains PZL Mielec’s largest ever S-70i order.
The S-70 BLACK HAWK is the export variant of the Sikorsky UH-60M BLACK HAWK manufactured in Poland for Sikorsky.
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