According to Reuters, the Philippines is purchasing 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Poland-based Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary PZL Mielec
to beef up its existing fleet of 12, the country's defence chief said on Sunday, as it seeks to boost its disaster response capabilities
The contract will come with logistical support and a training package for pilots and maintenance crews at a cost of 32 billion pesos ($624 million)
It is expected that the first 5 units will be delivered in 2023. The remaining ones will be delivered in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively
S-70i Helicopter or Black Hawk is the latest armed version of the S70/UH-60 Helicopter
The Weapons System can be bought along with a new aircraft or as a Kit that can be retrofitted to existing Black Hawk Helicopters
The Weapons System can be manually installed or removed as needed within 3 hours
The major parts of the Kit includes an Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) system, External Stores Support System (ESSS) and the Weapons themselves
The External Stores Support System are basically removable Stub Wings with Pylons that can carry various items like Weapons, Fuel Tanks, etc
The ABH Weapons System allows a lot of flexibility in what load to carry and how the configuration will be
Ultimately all the Passenger carrying capability can be removed altogether
and installed in their place more ammunition for the Machine Guns, or even more manually operated Machine Guns
The helicopter has a maximum gross weight of 9.9 tons and can carry two crew members and up to 13 troops
The reliable crash-worthy airframe design of the S-70i integrates a machined cabin structure and a single-piece cockpit assembly
The structure can resist small-arms fire and high-explosive projectiles
The helicopter is powered by two T700-GE701D turboshaft engines, each develops a maximum power of 1,447kW
The helicopter can fly at a maximum cruise speed of 277km/h and has a maximum range of 459km with no reserve
The service ceiling is 13,200ft
The rugged landing gear allows the landing and take-off from virtually any unprepared terrain
The S-70i Black Hawk is in service in Brunei, Colombia, Chile, Poland, and the Philippines
In addition to the 32 new helicopters
earlier this month the Philippines also received the first batch of T129 tactical reconnaissance and attack helicopters from Turkey
This will be a significant boost for the country's armed forces