THE Philippine Air Force last Monday received five more S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 16 Black Hawks being acquired by the defense and military establishments from a Polish aircraft manufacturer.
Air Force officials received the brand new combat utility helicopters from the Polish firm Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp.z.o.o in rites at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga.
The helicopters were flown to Clark Air Base by an Antonov transport plane, according to Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano.
“The Black Hawk is the best in its class of multi-mission utility helicopters and can be applied, with suitable equipment, to meet a variety of missions,” Mariano said.
Mariano said the delivery of the five helicopters “will further boost the heli-lift capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and will help the government deliver more services in more areas in less time.”
The defense department finalized the contract with Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp.z.o.o for the acquisition of 16 Black Hawks for $241.46 million (about P11.65 billion) in 2019 under the AFP modernization program.
The first delivery, composed of six units, was made in November. The third and last delivery of the five other Black Hawks will be done before the end of the year, said Mariano.
“With this new arrival, the PAF will be a better partner in the fight against the pandemic and a reliable ally in nation building,” said Mariano.
The Black Hawk helicopters replaced the 16 units of Bell 412 combat utility helicopters that were supposed to be acquired by the DND from the Canadian Commercial Corporation.
President Duterte cancelled the deal in February 2018 after Canada announced that the deal is being reviewed amid concerns that the aircraft will be used to fight communist rebels.
Canadian Trade minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has said the contract was struck on the understanding that the helicopters would be used by the Philippines for search and rescue missions.
