Lockheed Martin delivers S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippines

In 2024, Lockheed Martin delivered 10 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND), as part of a contract for 32 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters under the DND’s Additional Utility Helicopters Acquisition Project. The S-70 Black Hawk and the UH-60M Black Hawk share the same reliable, multi-mission capabilities.

“The growing Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter fleet in the Philippines is a testament to this reliable, multi-mission aircraft that is depended on for missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian aid and troop transport across the archipelago,” said Hamid Salim, Vice President of Army and Air Force Systems at Sikorsky. “When deliveries are completed, the Philippines will have the largest fleet of S-70i Black Hawks in the world, growing the global fleet of Hawks which supports interoperability and commonality and is a key deterrence and security advantage in the Indo-Pacific.”

Signed in 2022, the current contract states that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) will take delivery of 32 aircraft from Lockheed Martin subsidiary PZL Mielec. This will expand the PAF’s current fleet of 15 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to 47, enhancing the Force’s operational capacity. The first five aircraft under this contract were delivered in June 2024, and another five were delivered in December 2024. The remaining aircraft will be delivered over the next two years.   

Lockheed Martin continues to bolster its presence in the Philippines by growing operations, partnering with local industry and establishing an in-country office in Manila. In September 2024, Lockheed Martin appointed Asian Aerospace as the official original equipment manufacturer (OEM) authorized reseller of Sikorsky spare parts and repair services for the Black Hawk helicopter family of products in the Philippines.

Airborne Technologies recently achieved certification as a Lockheed Martin supplier for resistance welding.