Philippines Receives Five More S-70i Black Hawk Helicopters Manufactured in Poland

The Philippines has received five more S-70i Black Hawk multipurpose helicopters manufactured in Poland at PZL Mielec.

This was reported by the press service of the Philippine Air Force.

The ceremony of acceptance of the helicopters into the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing took place today at Clark Air Base, Mabalacat.

The helicopters were delivered to the country on July 15 by an Antonov Airlines An-124 Ruslan cargo plane. The video of its arrival was filmed by local spotter Laanceeey:

@laanceeey

Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan!!! #planespotting #planespotters #fyp #antonov #antonov124 #crk #fyp @Chris @speedyjordi @planespotteej @MAWI𓍼ོ @✈️Aerial Spotted✈️ @Jhobai @benny

♬ Mary on a cross – History.anne

The helicopters are part of 32 units ordered in 2022 under a direct contract with Poland’s PZL Mielec through the Philippine Armed Forces Modernization Act.

The first batch of five helicopters arrived in the country on June 10 last year, and five more arrived six months later on December 9. In total, the Philippines has already received 15 helicopters under this order.

The purchase, worth a total of 32 billion pesos, or $624 million, also includes logistical support and a training package for pilots and maintenance personnel.

This is not the first purchase of S-70i Black Hawks manufactured in Poland by the Philippines: in 2019, the country ordered 16 multi-role helicopters for a total of $241 million.

S-70i Black Hawk

S-70i Black Hawk is an export modification of the UH-60 Black Hawk multi-role helicopter manufactured in Poland at the PZL Mielec plant, a part of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

The first pre-production prototype was manufactured in 2010. Some of its components were delivered from the United States, and in 2012, after all the necessary tests, mass production of the helicopters began.

According to the official website, since 2010, PZL Mielec has delivered 116 units in various configurations to customers in 11 countries.