U.S. Army Black Hawk Update First Of Three In The Works

Sikorsky announced Thursday it has delivered the first aircraft with a cabin produced at PZL Mielec, a Sikorsky company in Poland.

The 145th UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter was delivered to the U.S. Army on September 30th. It is the first of three UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter cabins produced by the Polish facility to date for use in UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters built at Sikorsky's main manufacturing plant in the U.S.

"The first aircraft sale with a PZL Mielec cabin is a significant milestone in the growth of Sikorsky as a global leader in the aerospace industry and a continued commitment to meet the requirements of the UH-60M program supporting U.S. Army fieldings," said Doug Shidler, Vice President, Army programs. "Sikorsky is proud to be a global sourcing leader. This third cabin source allows us to meet the growing U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sale customer requirements for the UH-60M helicopter." 

The cabin was initially delivered to the Sikorsky facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where it was joined with a cockpit manufactured by Kaman in Jacksonville, Florida, and a tail-cone produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries in Turkey. Final assembly, flight operations and delivery were completed at the Sikorsky facility in Stratford, Connecticut.

"The delivery of the first Black Hawk helicopter to the U.S. Army with a cabin produced in our facility is rewarding validation that, with the guidance of Sikorsky Aircraft, PZL Mielec has been transformed into a world-class facility capable of producing Black Hawk helicopters," said Janusz Zakrecki, CEO of PZL Mielec.

PZL Mielec was acquired on March 16, 2007 as part of Sikorsky's efforts to increase its presence in the international marketplace.

File Photo

Recently, PZL Mielec began final assembly of the first S-70i Black Hawk helicopter, marking the beginning of a new helicopter in the Sikorsky product line, an international version of the Black Hawk helicopter. Final assembly officially began on August 17th. The first S-70i helicopter is expected to be completed in late 2010.

FMI: www.sikorsky.com