U.S. Army Celebrates Landmark Black Hawk Delivery

UH-60M Black Hawk in 2007. (Image courtesy of Sikorsky.)

The H-60M Black Hawk is a mainstay of military aviation around the world. Unsurprisingly, in this global contest, the U.S. is number one.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company since 2015, recently delivered its 1,000th Black Hawk to the U.S. Army at a celebration attended by some military brass.

The first H-60M was delivered in 2007. Since then, the U.S. military has bought the majority of the 2,135 machines currently in use around the world. The U.S. Army has active H-60M Black Hawk programs with Bahrain, Jordan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

The newest delivery marks the 792nd UH-60M (utility model) and the 208th HH-060M (rescue/medical evac model) by Sikorsky to the U.S. Army.

Sikorsky’s Stratford, Conn. production facility. The Navy’s MH-60R Sea Hawk is in the foreground, while UH-60M and HH-60M Black Hawks are being assembled in the background. (Image courtesy of Chester County Economic Development Council.)

While the Black Hawk family of helicopters has been around since the 1970s, this third generation is far more advanced than its predecessors. Improvements to the engines, rotor blades, electronics and controls have extended the service life of the H-60M into the 2020s.

The factory building these machines has history as well, including F-4U Corsair production during World War II.

"I know that I speak for all of our employees, many of us military service veterans, when I describe the tremendous pride we feel today," said Dan Schultz, president of Sikorsky.

"We are honored to provide our country's men and women in uniform with a proven multi-role aircraft they can count on to perform their missions every day."

(Image courtesy of Ned Gerard.)

Among the numerous military speakers at the ceremony was Brigadier General Robert L. Marion, who said, "The UH-60 is often referred to as the workhorse of Army Aviation and as such your efforts here, past, present, and future are critical to the continued defense of our nation.”

“The rollout of the 1000th UH-60M BLACK HAWK marks an important outcome of our Aviation Modernization Plan, and these aircraft will transform our aviation fleet to a more flexible, capable, and ready team," he added.

For more information on some ways Lockheed Martin is supplying the military, check out this recent electronics article.