Summary

  • The Black Hawk is a versatile helicopter with a variety of missions and modern variants for survivability.
  • The iconic Black Hawk is used by the US Army and is expected to serve until the 2070s.
  • A new variant of the Black Hawk will serve as an Armed Helicopter for fire suppression and armed escort duties.

The Black Hawk is one of the most iconic American helicopters and was immortalized in the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down. The Black Hawk has succeeded, whereas many Army helicopter projects have failed (including the Comanche and now the FARA armed scout helicopter). The Black Hawk far outnumbers the Army’s other helicopters, like the CH-47 Chinook and the famous AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

An iconic American copter

The Black Hawk is built by Sikorsky (a division of Lockheed Martin) and is now used by the armed forces of over 34 countries around the world. The Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military helicopter used primarily by the US Army. It first entered service in 1979 and has since been used in most of America’s wars.

Blackhawk (photo resized to 16-9 ratio)

Photo: VanderWolf Images | Shutterstock

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

Entered service:

1979

Number built:

5,000 (over 4,000 in use today)

Primary operator:

US Army

Powerplant:

2x General Electric T700 turboshaft engines

Role:

Utility helicopter

The Black Hawk remains in production, although modern variants provide much higher survivability and situational awareness than the original Black Hawks of the 1980s. Modern Black Hawks come with digital avionics, high-strength airframes, composite wide-chord rotor blacks, and powerful GE engines.

The Black Hawk’s low profile allows it to be transported on the Air Force’s C-130 Hercules. Ukraine’s massive AN-124-100 Ruslan military transport aircraft are even able to transport five of them in one go.

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The Black Hawk’s many missions

Lockheed states, “During the last 40 years, this remarkable aircraft has fought its way in and out of countless combat zones to deliver and extract troops, save lives as a MEDEVAC or casualty evacuation platform, provide critical supplies to troops, deliver emergency supplies during natural disasters, and perform as an aerial firefighter and border patroller.

HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter

Photo: Lockheed Martin

Black Hawk capabilities

Payload:

2,600 lbs

Soldiers:

11 combat soldiers

Max speed:

183 mph

Ferry range:

1,380 miles

Combat range:

370 miles

The Black Hawk is a versatile platform that can conduct a range of missions, including tactical troop transport, aeromedical evacuation, and electronic warfare. The Black Hawk also has a VIP variant (VH-60N), which is used to transport important government officials.

When it is used in an air assault role, it can move a squad of 11 combat troops or transport a 105 mm M119 howitzer with its four-man crew and 30 rounds. In Army service, the primary mission of the MH-60 Black Hawk is to conduct overt or covert infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces in many conditions.

Black Hawk mission sets:

  • Search and rescue
  • Military transport
  • Electronic warfare
  • VIP transport
  • MEDEVAC
  • Aerial firefighter
  • Border patrol
  • Fire suppression
  • Armed escort

The Black Hawk is to take on a new mission set as an Armed Helicopter. This will provide fire suppression when supporting ground troops and operating in an armed escort capacity. The system qualified for US military airworthiness standards in 2017 and is now in operational use in the UAE. While an armed Black Hawk may never be the equal of an Apache, it is a formidable fighting machine.

Armed BLACK HAWK

Photo: Lockheed Martin

Armed Black Hawks can engage static or moving targets with forward-firing guns, rockets, and laser-designated air-to-ground missiles. Their weapon systems calculate the range and complex ballistics required for the pilots to hit targets accurately from stand-off distances (including during night operations).

The Army’s Black Hawks and eventual replacement

So far, over 4,000 Black Hawks are in service worldwide, with a bit over half (2,135) of them in US Army service. But while the Black Hawk has been an immensely successful machine, it is aging. In 2023, the US Army selected the V-280 Valor helicopters to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk as the new primary Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System. The service also has more Black Hawks on order.

In December 2023, Forbes reported that the Army is looking to cut 157 Black Hawks (around 8% of the fleet) to free up money for the V-280 Valor. However, the V-280 Valor is still in development and will not be in operational use until the early 2030s, meaning that the Black Hawk will continue to serve the Army as the workhorse for many years.

“Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters until the 2070s, and upgrades to the aircraft today will pay dividends for decades. These improvements take advantage of previous Army investments in FARA to speed new capabilities, while also reducing risk for Future Vertical Lift programs by deploying next-generation capabilities on a fielded platform.” – Lockheed Martin

While the Valors will start replacing some Black Hawk roles, they may not replace all of them. Black Hawks are being modernized and are expected to serve the Army into the 2070s, meaning that when they eventually retire, Black Hawks may take their place alongside the B-52 Superfortresses as having flown for almost 100 years.

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Black Hawk naming

UH-60M BLACK HAWK

Photo: Lockheed Martin

The helicopter is not named after a hawk but after the Native American Sauk leader and warrior, Black Hawk (born as Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak). Black Hawk fought on the side of the British against the US in the War of 1812 in an effort to keep settlers from his territories. In the Black Hawk War of 1832, he was captured by the US and then toured through American cities. He is known for “…more for being a war leader, a ‘captain of his actions’ than he was a tribal chief.”

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