THE Philippine Air Force (PAF) completes its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters with the commissioning of seven brand-new S-70i utility helicopters from Poland’s PZL Mielec on Aug 26, bringing the fleet to a substantial 47 airframes and becoming the largest operator of S-70i helicopters in the world. PZL Mielec is a Lockheed Martin company.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by PAF Commanding General Lieutenant General Arthur Cordura together with other top brass from the PAF, Department of National Defence and Polish embassy. Also present was president and general director of PZL Mielec Janusz Zakrecki.
According to the PAF, the formal acceptance, turnover and blessing of the seven helicopters marks the completion of the 32 units contracted from Lockheed Martin’s Polish subsidiary PZL Mielec in February 2022 for US$516 million. The PAF originally signed a deal for 16 S-70is in 2019 for US$192M which were subsequently delivered from 2020 to 2021 before the larger contract was signed. Out of the original 48 units ordered, the PAF lost one unit following a 2021 crash involving one S-70i in Tarlac during a night proficiency training flight, with six personnel perishing.
After their commissioning, the new helicopters will be immediately deployed for missions and distributed across different regions, even to the West Philippine Sea region. “The arrival of these seven helicopters completes the order of all 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters acquired under the PAF’s Modernization Program, marking a significant milestone in the development of the country’s rotary wing capability,” a PAF spokesperson said.
With aircraft arriving in batches since 2024, the additional aircraft will also augment the PAF’s capability to conduct a wide range of missions that include troop and personnel transport, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), search-and-rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) and other critical air operations. On top of that, the Black Hawks will complement other helicopters in the PAF inventory rather than immediately replace the entire rotary-wing fleet, including Bell 412EPX and others such as the aging UH-1H which are due for retirement.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:PAF)
