Thu, Mar 26, 2009
More Than 1,740 Black Hawks In Service With Branch
In a rollout ceremony attended by government officials, armed
services personnel, and employees, Sikorsky Aircraft celebrated
Wednesday the delivery of the 100th new production UH-60M Black
Hawk to the US Army.
Sporting a new airframe, avionics and propulsion system, the
UH-60M helicopter is the latest and most modern in a series of
Black Hawk variants that Sikorsky has been delivering to the Army
since 1978.
"The UH-60M helicopter delivers great technology and a load of
confidence based on Sikorsky’s three decades of experience in
designing, building and servicing the workhorse of the United
States Army," said Sikorsky President Jeffrey P. Pino, a retired US
Army Master Aviator with 26 years of combined active, reserve and
National Guard service. "I can talk about the aircraft's reduced
pilot workload, increased lift, better protection and enhanced
survivability, but nothing means more than when soldiers tell us
how much they depend on and trust this helicopter."
Col. L. Neil Thurgood, Utility Helicopters Project Manager
for the US Army, noted an entire battalion of the aircraft has
deployed to Afghanistan. "The UH-60M Black Hawk has been warmly
received by our soldiers who appreciate its performance, durability
and robust design," said Col. Thurgood.
The Army currently has more than 1,740 Black Hawk variants with
more than 5.8 million combined flight hours in inventory,
constituting the world's largest and most battle-tested Black Hawk
fleet. The Army Black Hawk fleet will soon exceed more than 1
million hours of combat duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan war
theaters since 2003.
The UH-60M helicopter’s new composite spar wide-chord
blade will provide 500 lbs more lift than the current UH-60L blade.
The new General Electric T700-GE-701D engine will add more
horsepower and allow additional lift during external lift (sling
load) operations.
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