Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky reached a major milestone in January with the delivery of its 5,000th “Hawk” variant helicopter at its Stratford, Connecticut assembly facility.
Lockheed Martin said that the type will continue to service medium-lift helicopter requirements for the US military and other operators “decades into the future.”
“Sikorsky, as a company, has been forged by the Black Hawk,” said Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo. He added that when reliability and performance are nonnegotiable, the Black Hawk and its variants still deliver.
The Sikorsky official also noted that due to continued US and international investment in the aircraft and the most recent technology breakthroughs, the Hawk aircraft continues to show its versatility and readiness.
The US Army, the largest Black Hawk operator, highlighted the key role the aircraft continues to fulfil during military and civil operations around the world, in addition to its significant contribution towards Joint All Domain Operations.
“For more than 40 years the Black Hawk has remarkably supported Soldiers in every major contingency operation the Army has executed,” said Col. Calvin Lane, the utility helicopter project manager for the Program Executive Office Aviation.
“Even though the helicopter has been around longer than most of the Soldiers it now supports, the Army plans for it to be in front-line service another 40 years and beyond,” Lane stated.
The PEO Aviation official also explained that every person who contributes to the delivery of this aircraft immediately contributes to the provision of combat capability that safeguards soldiers and aids the Army in fulfilling its mission.
The Black Hawk platform and its variations are used by clients from all around the world, including the MH-60R/S maritime operations helicopters, MH-60T multi-mission helicopters, HH-60W rescue helicopters, and internationally built S-70 Black Hawks, including the baseline FIREHAWK, which have all demonstrated its versatility and capability across a spectrum of difficult mission sets.
In the news release, Lockheed Martin said that the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk, made by the company’s PZL Mielec factory in Poland, is in great demand internationally and is manufactured by Sikorsky’s experienced and highly trained staff in Stratford. To date, the Black Hawk is claimed to be used by more than 35 international customers thanks to its extensive support network and ongoing modernization.
