TSAMTO, October 18. According to the Philippine news agency PNA, on October 13, the acceptance ceremony of the next batch of multi-purpose S-70i Black Hawk helicopters took place at the Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga.
The event was attended by the Minister of National Defense Delphine Lorenzana and the Commander of the Philippine Air Force, Lieutenant General Allen Paredes.
As stated, five new Black Hawk helicopters will allow the Philippine Air Force to better provide transportation and search and rescue operations at any time of the day. After the arrival of the new batch, the total number of Black Hawk S-70i delivered to the Philippines increased to 16 units. Thus, the delivery of helicopters is fully completed ahead of schedule.
As reported by TSAMTO, the contract for the supply of 16 multi-purpose S-70i "Black Hawk" helicopters developed by Sikorsky to the Philippine Air Force was signed in April 2019 as part of an intergovernmental agreement with Poland. The purchase was implemented as part of the second stage of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Horizon-2). The sale cost was about 11.5 billion filip. pesos ($241.46 million). Helicopters for the Philippine Air Force were assembled at the Polish company PZL Mielec, which is a division of Sikorsky.
The ordered S-70i helicopters are designed to transport troops and cargo, supplies, medical evacuation, aerial reconnaissance, limited direct aviation support, search and rescue operations, and support operations to assist victims of natural disasters.
The first six S-70is were delivered to the Philippines in November 2020. They became part of the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing. Five more helicopters were delivered by air on board the AN-124 aircraft in June 2021. One of the six S-70is of the first batch crashed on June 24, 2021 during a night exercise.
S-70i were purchased instead of Bell-412EPI, the contract for the supply of which was canceled by the Philippine Air Force. The new helicopters will replace the outdated UH-1. It is planned that the Black Hawk Park will reach full readiness for combat use in 2023.
At the same time, it became known that 10 UH-1D helicopters purchased in 2013-2014. The American company Rice Aircraft Services Inc. as a temporary solution to meet the needs of the Philippine Air Force, were written off because they completed their tasks.
