A POLISH aircraft manufacturer delivered earlier this week five S-70i or Black Hawk helicopters, part of the additional 32 combat utility helicopters being acquired by the military under its modernization program.
Air Force spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo yesterday said the five Black Hawks are undergoing “technical inspection and inspection activities” prior to formal acceptance and commissioning.
“Just this week, we saw the arrival of another batch of five Black Hawk helicopters which is the second batch of the 32 Black Hawk helicopters that we are acquiring under Horizon 2 of the modernization program,” Castillo told a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
In February 2022, the defense department signed a contract with PZL Mielic for the acquisition of 32 Black Hawks for P32.1 billion.
Five of helicopters were delivered and subsequently commissioned about six months ago.
Fifteen Black Hawks are scheduled to be delivered next year and the rest in 2026, said Castillo.
The 32 Black Hawks are in addition to the 16 that were earlier acquired from PZL Mielic for P11.65 billion. One of the choppers crashed in Tarlac in June 2021 during a night proficiency training.
Castillo described the Black Hawks as “very efficient” helicopters.
She said the Black Hawks are “very important” because they are being used for a range of operations like internal security operations, medical search and rescue, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The Black Hawks are complementing some 20 vintage Huey helicopters in the Air Force inventory of the Air Force.
