Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Military tactical transport helicopter

Power Plant:

(S-70A-9)

Two 1,084 kw (1,543 Shp) General Electric T700-GE-700 turboshafts

Specifications:

Armament:

Provision for two 7.62 mm (0.30 in) M-60 light machine guns firing from the cabin, plus chaff/flare dispensers

History:

The Sikorsky S-70 series was designed to meet a requirement of the US Army for a utility tactical transport aircraft system (UTTAS), winning a contest in 1976 against a design from Boeing Vertol.  Since then it has been sold in large numbers to many air forces, and has been developed to meet other requirements.  The first YUH-60A (Sikorsky S-70) flew on 17 October 1974 and three YUH-60As and three YUH-61As (Boeing Vertol Model 179) were delivered to the US Army at Fort Benning in Georgia in March 1976.  The first production aircraft flew on 17 October 1978 and deliveries to the US Army began in October 1978, service trials taking place at Fort Rucker in Alabama.  Initial service entry was with the 101st Airborne Division in June 1979.

A large number of variants has appeared over the years, including the Enhanced Blackhawk to provide unescorted day/night missions at treetop level with an active and passive self-defence system; GUH-60A for technical training; HH-76D Night Hawk which later became the HH-60E; UH-60A for army special operations aviation regiments; UH-60C for command and control; HH-60G Pave Hawk, etc.  Operators other than the American and Australian Armies included the Philippine Air Force, Jordan, Japan, Turkey, Korea, Egypt for VIP duties, Mexico, Moroccan Police, Hong Kong, Argentine Air Force for VIP work, Malaysia as a replacement for the Super Puma in the VIP role, Brazil for peacekeeping support duties, Sultan of Brunei, Chile, Colombia, Austria, Israel, Taiwan etc. Additional variants have been the SH-60B Seahawk ASW anti-ship variant; EH-60A ECM electronic counter measures; EH-60B SOTAS (stand-off target acquisition system) used as a platform for detecting and classifying moving battlefield targets under all weather conditions with a data terminal in the cabin fed from a large rotating surveillance radar aerial under the fuselage.

Primarily a combat assault squad carrier designed to replace the UH-1 series, the Blackhawk could carry a squad of 11 equipped troops and a crew of three.  Eight troop seats could be replaced by four stretchers, and a 3,628 kg (8,000 lb) cargo load could be slung externally. This included an M-102 (105 mm) Howitzer.  One example of the S-70 was obtained by Rolls Royce in the United Kingdom, fitted with two Rolls Royce /Turbomeca RTM 322 engines, and offered to fill a requirement of the RAF.

Licences were granted to the United Kingdom, Korean Airlines of South Korea, and Mitsubishi of Taipai to build the S-70 series.  Initial production version was the UH-60A designed to have a crew of three and up to 11 troops.  It could also be used for medevac, reconnaissance, command and control, and troop supply. The cargo hook capacity was 4,082 kg (9,000 lb) and one could be accommodated in a Lockheed C-130 Hercules.  A total of 1,049 had been completed for the US Army when production moved to the UH-60L model in 1989.

The basic mission of the Blackhawk was combat assault, being able to carry a complete squad of 11 infantrymen weighing 109 kw (240 lb) each with equipment into a hostile landing zone.  One Blackhawk could put 88 men into a location 16 km (10 miles) from base in 1 hr 20 mins.  The crew comprised two pilots and a crew chief, who also manned one of the side guns aft of the pilots, the eleventh passenger manning the other side gun.  The 11 man infantry section brought mission weight up to 7,462 kw (16,450 lb) and included enough fuel for a 2.3 hour mission cruising at 269 km/h (167 mph).  It was designed to fly safely for 30 mins after being hit by a 7.62 mm (0.30 in) bullet fired from the lower hemisphere, the pilots being armour protected, the fuel tanks being able to survive a 12.7 mm (0.5 in) bullet hit.  Main and standby systems were separated, as were the engines; and the main undercarriage could absorb a 10.6 m/sec (35 ft/sec) landing impact equivalent to 9G. The cabin of the aircraft was capacious, being able to carry a maximum of 20 lightly-equipped troops.

In the early 1980s the Australian Air Staff was looking for a new utility helicopter as a replacement for the Bell Iroquois and a request for tender was issued on 19 April 1984, manufacturers placing the Super Puma, Westland W30-400, Bell JVX tilt rotor and Sikorsky S-70 before the panel.  At that stage the Seahawk had also already been chosen for the RAN for anti-submarine operations.  Having first flown in October 1974 and been selected for the US Army as a replacement for the UH-1 in 1976, and with commonality with the Navy’s Seahawk, the Blackhawk was selected and an initial order was placed for 14 aircraft on 29 May 1986.  On 1 May 1987 the Australian Government announced it had ordered 14 Blackhawks powered by General Electric T701A engines for the RAAF to equip Nos 9 and 35 Squadrons, the first to be assembled in the USA and the remainder in Australia at Bankstown, NSW.  A considerable amount of the cost of the new machines involved contracts being placed with Australian industry on an offset basis.

Following the Australian Defence White Paper in March 1987 involving the re-organisation of the Australian Armed Forces, all battlefield helicopters were transferred to the Australian Army on 15 February 1990, No 9 Squadron delivering its machines to A Squadron of No 5 Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Brigade at Garbutt, Townsville, QLD the other aircraft going to B Squadron.

In May 1987 a further 25 examples of the Australian variant (S-70A-9) were ordered for the Australian Army, these to be fitted with an external stores support system that enabled them to carry additional fuel tanks giving a ferry range in excess of 2,000 km (1,243 miles).  At one stage consideration was given to installing the last 25 machines with the Rolls Royce / Turbomeca RTM 322 engine but in the result all were fitted with the T700-701A-1 turboshaft, Hawker de Havilland manufacturing some components and assembling the engines.

The first Australian Army machine (A25-101 – c/n 701067) flew at the manufacturer’s facility at Stratford, Connecticut on 11 September 1987, being handed over to the RAAF on 31 December and flown to RAAF Amberley, QLD by Lockheed C-130 Hercules, taking up duties with No 9 Squadron on 27 February 1988.  The first Australian-assembled machine flew at Bankstown in 1988, being handed over on 12 May.  The next 13 aircraft (A25-102 to A25-114 – c/ns between 70189 and 701240) were all assembled by Hawker de Havilland at its Bankstown facility.

A25-102 spent from August to October 1988 at the US Naval Air Test Centre at Patuxent River, Maryland performing electro magnetic interference trials; and A25-101 at that time underwent gunnery trials at ARDU in South Austtralia.  The second batch comprised 25 machines (A15-201 to A25-225 – c/ns between 201292 and 201455). The machines were attached to the 5th Air Regiment (Air Mobility) with 27 Blackhawks with A and B Squadrons, with a number used in the training role with the School of Army Aviation at Oakey, QLD. The last S-70 was delivered in September 1990 to No 9 Squadron, RAAF, at Fairbairn, ACT.

A few have been lost in accidents, the first being A25-217 (c/n 701392) at Oakey on 29 June 1990.  In the mid-1990s the Blackhawks had some problems with cracking, corrosion and lack of spare parts, some 24 aircraft being grounded in 1995 pending the availability of parts and servicing.

The Australian Blackhawks have been deployed overseas. In May 1993 six were deployed to assist in the United Nations effort in Cambodia involving that country’s general elections, these machines (A25-103, A25-106, A25-108, A25-202, A25-212 and A25-218) being conveyed to that country in USAF Lockheed C-5As.  They were painted overall white with UN markings and operated from Battambang. They were attached to the Australian Contingent Aviation Group.  Others have been operated overseas during the problems in East Timor.

In June 2006 the Australian Government announced an order for a further 34 NH-90 helicopters in addition to the 12 already on order, these to be placed in service with both the RAN and the Australian Army, the latter to replace the Blackhawks which were to be phased out between January 2011 and December 2013 but, due to the MRH-90 program deficiencies and difficulties with the aircraft, withdrawal of the Blackhawk fleet did not begin until January 2014 and was not expected to be completed until June 2018. Problems with the operation of the NH-90 Taipan continued and Blackhawks remained in service in 2020, being used extensively during the catastrophic bushfire period in December 2019 / January 2020 carrying fire fighting personnel, supplies, and evacuees.

Since 2015 the US Army has been retiring its UH-60A Blackhawks and a number have been obtained by operators to convert for other roles, including fire fighting.  One such company has been Timberline Helicopters of northern Idaho which has equipped a number with 3,410 litre (750 Imp gals – 900 US gals) multi-shot BBX-7590 Bambi buckets with a fast fill pump enabling them to be filled in just over 30 seconds.

Following Blackhawk N434TH commencing operations with Timberline, some 550 hours of operations were performed in the last eight months of fire fighting in the United States, and it had also been involved in long-line precision lifts, before shipment to Australia in late 2016 for the Australian fire season. The owner teamed up with Pays Helicopters of Scone, NSW to operate the machine.  Arriving at Port Brisbane, QLD in late December the machine was quickly assembled and flown south to Scone.  It arrived with a container load of spares. Timberline pilots operated the machine, it being available on-call when needed by fire agencies until April 2017.

The company converted further ex-military machines in the United States for this role and it was announced a conversion operation would take place in Australia by the company at its facility to convert ex-Australian Army machines which had been placed in storage following their retirement.

Queensland based StarFlight, Kaan Air Australia and Sikorsky in 2018 announced a joint agreement to refurbish ten ex-US military UH-60 Blackhawks for civil use, with an option to convert a further ten.  The purpose of the program was to repurpose the machines for aerial fire fighting in Australia and New Zealand, and disaster relief.  The machines were to be registered in Australia, the program including new General Electric GE-T700-GE-701D high-performance engines, upgraded gearboxes, installation of a terrain awareness and warning systems, and a general overhaul, the work being undertaken at Pinkenba in Brisbane. However, in September 2018 the plan to rebuild ten aircraft was abandoned, although it was said interest had been shown in the United States in a couple of examples. The machines were to be operated by StarFlight, a subsidiary of Kaan Air, a Turkish company.

In June 2018 the Australian Government agreed to transfer two Blackhawk airframes to the NSW Rural Fire Service to assist the NSW Government’s ability to respond to emergencies, the machines to be attached to the NSW Rural Fire Service aerial squadron and to be used to fly emergency personnel to bushfires, floods and other disasters across the State, ownership of the aircraft being transferred from the Australian Defence Force to the NSW Rural Fire Service. During the 2019 / 2020 bushfire season on the Australian east coast further Blackhawk fire bombers were imported for operations.

On 12 June 2019 an EH-60A Blackhawk N160PA (c/n 70-1132 – ex 86-24572) arrived at Ardmore, NZ  afer being shipped from the United States on board the Capricorn for Kahu Helicopters of Whakatane, this machine for commercial use, becoming ZK-HKU3.

On 10 December 2021 the Australian Minister for Defence announced the Australian Army would retire its remaining S-70-A9 Blackhawk helicopters at a ceremony at Holsworthy in Sydney.  At the same time he announced the 47 MRH-90 Taipan helicopters in service would be retired 10 years early. It was stated they would be replaced by 40 UH-60M Blackhaawks and the cost of the purchase with ongoing costs was $A7 billion. Further, that the ost of keeping the Taipan in service was $A9 billion.

During Ausralian service the Blackhawk served with A and B Squadrons of the 5th Army Aviation regiment at Townsville, QLD, Nos 171 and 173 Aviation Sqaudrons of the 6th Aviation Regiment a Holsworthy and were seconded to the Army Aviation Test and Evaluation Section and the School of Army Aviztion at Oakey, QLD and the Aircraft Reserch and development Unit at Edinburgh, SA.

The early model Blackhawks were epected to be phased out of service in mid-2020 but continuing difficulties with the MRH-90 saw the service of the type extended for 18 months. It was announced a number would be placed in museums including the Army Museum of Flying at Oakey, the RAAF Heritage Centre at Amberley, the Austrlian War Memoril and the RAAF Museum at Point Cook; and the remainder would be sold to civil operators.