Sikorsky S-70

S-70/H-60 series

Los Angeles County Fire Department S-70A Firehawk sitting on the tarmac at Fox field
Role	Medium-lift transport/utility helicopter
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft, Turkish Aerospace Industries (under Licence)^[1]
First flight	1974
Introduction	1979
Status	In service
Primary users	U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Government Flying Service (Hong Kong) See Operators below for others
Produced	1970s–present
Variants	Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawk Mitsubishi H-60

The Sikorsky S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the U.S. Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the UH-60 Black Hawk and spawning a large family in U.S. military service. New and improved versions of the UH-60 have been developed since. Civilian versions, and some military versions are produced under various S-70 model designations.

Development

The S-70 family was developed to meet a US Army requirement to replace the UH-1 Iroquois family of utility medium-lift helicopters in 1972. Three YUH-60A prototypes were constructed, with the first flying in October 1974. They were evaluated against the Boeing-Vertol YUH-61A. The YUH-60A was selected for production, and entered service as the UH-60A Black Hawk with the US Army in 1979.^[2]

After entering service, the helicopter was modified for new missions and roles, including mine laying and medical evacuation. An EH-60 variant was developed to conduct electronic warfare and special operations aviation developed the MH-60 variant to support its missions.^[3] In the late 1980s the model was upgraded to the UH-60L, which featured more power and lift with the upgrade to the -701C model of the GE T700 engine. The improved UH-60M model was developed in the early 2000s.^[2] The UH-60M and its International version, the S-70i, include GPS navigation, a glass cockpit, an integrated Flight Management System, and a significant upgrade to the powertrain and rotor system adding both power and lift capability.

The S-70 can perform a wide array of missions, including air cavalry, electronic warfare, and aeromedical evacuation: several versions are used to transport the President of the United States, which while carrying the President is known as "Marine One". In air assault operations it can move a squad of 11 combat troops and equipment or carry the 105 mm M102 howitzer, thirty rounds of ammunition, and a six-man crew. Alternatively, it can carry 2,600 lb (1,200 kg) of cargo or sling load 9,000 lb (4,100 kg) of cargo. The S-70 is equipped with advanced avionics and electronics, such as the Global Positioning System.

HH-60G Pave Hawk

The United States Navy received the first navalized SH-60B Seahawk in 1983, and the SH-60F Ocean Hawk in 1988.

The HH-60G Pave Hawk is a highly modified version of the S-70 primarily designed to recover downed aircrew or other isolated personnel during war and equipped with a rescue hoist with a 250 ft (76 m) cable that has a 600 lb (270 kg) lift capability, and a retractable in-flight refueling probe. The United States Air Force received the MH-60G Pave Hawk in 1982.

The United States Coast Guard received the HH-60J Jayhawk in 1992. It utilizes the equipment of the HH-60G Pave Hawk on the navalized SH-60 platform.^[4]

The S-70A Firehawk is a version of the S-70 designed for firefighting, rescue, medical evacuation, and external lift of bulky cargo and equipment. The Oregon National Guard was the first military organization in the world to add the Firehawk to its inventory; the Los Angeles County Fire Department was the first municipal organization.

The Army also flies medical evacuation models which are configured as rotary winged medical suites. It also uses the S-70 for special operations by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ("Night Stalkers") at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, designated as the MH-60K.

The Maple Hawk was a variant offered by Sikorsky to the Canadian Forces during the tender to replace the military's search and rescue helicopters.

The unit cost varies with the version. For example, the unit cost of the Army's UH-60L Black Hawk was $5.9 million while the unit cost of the Air Force MH-60G Pave Hawk was $10.2 million.

Variants

US Navy SH-60B Seahawk

H-60

UH-60 Black Hawk: The basic military utility helicopter used by the US Army, with variants MH-60A, -K, and -L
SH-60 Seahawk: US Navy variant for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime patrol, all-weather and day/night.
HH-60 Pave Hawk: USAF heli-rescue variant for search and rescue, MEDEVAC, and combat search and rescue use on day and night operations.
MH-60 "Knighthawk": US Navy medium-heavy lift helicopter
- Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, multimission maritime helicopter operated by the United States Navy
- Sikorsky MH-60S, unofficially known as the "Knighthawk", maritime medium-heavy lift helicopter operated by the United States Navy
- Sikorsky MH-60G Pave Hawk, Special Operations search-and-rescue helicopter operated by the United States Air Force
- Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk, martime rescue helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard
HH-60 Jayhawk: United States Coast Guard variant for maritime patrol, interdiction, and search and rescue
VH-60 White Hawk: The US presidential transport helicopter, Marine One

S-70

A VH-60 flies over the Potomac

The company name for the H-60/S-70 family is the S-70 Black Hawk.

S-70A Black Hawk (UH-60 Black Hawk): Military model for the export market.
S-70A Firehawk Firefighting variant of the UH-60L. Tank system designed and built by Aero Union in Chico, California.
S-70A (N) Naval Hawk Maritime variant that blends the S-70A Black Hawk and S-70B Seahawk designs.
S-70B/C Seahawk: Maritime military model for the export market.
S-70A-9: Australian derivative Black Hawk
S-70C Firehawk: Commercial variant
S-70i Black Hawk: International military version assembled by Sikorsky subsidiary, PZL Mielec in Poland.^[5]^[6]

Derivatives

Sikorsky S-71 - a proposed attack helicopter using dynamic components from the S-70.^[7]^[8]^[9]
Sikorsky S-92 - Civilian medium-lift derivative of the Black Hawk.
- H-92 Superhawk - Military version of the S-92. The Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone is the H-92 version for the Canadian Forces.
Turkish Aerospace Industries T-70: A Turkish variant of the S-70i, built under license by Turkish Aerospace Industries with indigenous Turkish mission-computer and avionics (by Aselsan); flight controls, landing gear and transmission (by Alp Aviation); and T700-TEI-701D engines under license from General Electric (by Tusaş Engine Industries) .^[10]^[11] Turkey was to initially produce about 109 T-70s under license. US Ambassador to Turkey Frank Ricciardone stated that Turkey now intends to produce some 600 T-70s.^[12]

Operators

S-70C Firehawk at Fox Field, California

Argentina

Presidential Air Group^[13]^[14]

Colombia

Colombian National Police^[15]

Mexico

Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Interior^[18]

Turkey

ROCAF S-70C Bluehawk

General Directorate of Security^[19]

United States

Former operators

Hong Kong

Government Flying Service^[23]

Specifications (S-70i)

Data from Sikorsky^[24]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: 14-17 seats/12 troops/6 stretchers
Payload: 4,072 kg (9,000 lb) externally slung
Length: 19.76 m (64 ft 10 in)
Rotor diameter: 53 ft 8 in (16.36 m)
Height: 5.33 m (17 ft 6 in)
Empty weight: 5347 kg (11,790 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,979 kg (22,000 lb)
Fuel, internal: 1,360 L
Auxiliary Fuel: 2x 700 L tanks internally, 1,705 L (450 US gal) tank on each inboard pylon and 872 L (230 US gal) tank on each outboard pylon, or 1,705 L (450 US gal) tank on each pylon
Powerplant: 2 × General Electric T700-GE-701D turboshaft, 1,409 kW (1,940 shp) at 0.462 Specific fuel consumption^[25] each

Performance

Maximum speed: 361 km/h (195 knots, 224 mph)
Cruise speed: 163 knots (301.8 km/h), max cruise (149 knots, normal cruise)
Range: 463 km, (288 mi, 250 nmi) with 20 min reserve
Service ceiling: 6,096 m (20,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.43 m/s (2,250 ft/m)

Armament

Guns: M240, MAG-58, M3M, Gau-19
Rockets: Hydra
Missiles: Hellfire (x16)

In Fiction

The Sikorsky S-70 Firehawk figures prominently in M. L. Buchman's Firehawks novel series and related short stories.^[26]

References

Notes

↑ http://www.sikorsky.com/About+Sikorsky/News/Press+Details?pressvcmid=6444a6d57ed84410VgnVCM1000004f62529fRCRD
1 2 Bishop, Chris (2008). Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Osprey Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-84176-852-6.
↑ Tomajczyk 2003, pp. 15–29.
↑ "SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter". navy.mil. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
↑ "Sikorsky breathes new life into PZL Mielec". Flight International, June 8, 2010.
↑ "First S-70i Helicopter Fully Assembled at Sikorsky Facility in Poland". Sikorsky, March 15, 2010.
↑ "American airplanes: Sikorsky". Aerofiles.com. 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
↑ Sikorsky Helicopters - Helis.com
↑ "S-71 image". deviantart.com. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
↑ "Sikorsky wins Turkish utility helicopter battle". FlightGlobal.com. 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
↑ "News". OnlineAMD.com. 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
↑ "Can Turkey Afford Its Extensive Defense Plans?". DefenseNews.com. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
↑ "World Air Forces 2004". Flightglobal Insight. 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
↑ "Presidential Sikorsky S-70A-30". Demand media. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ "Colombia requests nine more Black Hawks for counter-narcotics fight". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ "Mexican Police Receive UH-60M Black Hawks". Air International. Vol. 80 no. 3. March 2011. p. 28. ISSN 0306-5634.
↑ "Mexican State of Jalisco takes delivery of S-70i". helihub.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ "Black Hawki z Mielca w Arabii Saudyjskiej". altair.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ "Sayfalar - Bell 429 Album". Havacilik.pol.tr. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
↑ "L.A. County Fire Air Operations". lacounty.gov. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
↑ "Black Hawk Made: A Peek Inside the Sikorsky Factory". wired.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ "CPB S-70". Demand media. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
↑ "Hong Kong Government Flying Service S-70". Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ S70-061_IBH_SS.pdf sikorsky.com
↑ "General Electric T700C".
↑ M. L. Buchman. "M. L. BUCHMAN". M. L. BUCHMAN.

Bibliography

Leoni, Ray D. (2007). Black Hawk, The Story of a World Class Helicopter. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). ISBN 978-1-56347-918-2.
Tomajczyk, Stephen F. (2003). Black Hawk. MBI. ISBN 0-7603-1591-4.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sikorsky S-70.

Sikorsky aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft (company designations)	S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13 S-14 S-15 S-16 S-17 S-18 S-19 S-20 S-21 S-22 S-23 S-24 S-25 S-26 S-27 S-28 S-29-A S-30 S-31 S-32 S-33 S-34 S-35 S-36 S-37 S-38 S-39 S-40 S-41 S-42 S-43 VS-44 S-45
Fixed-wing aircraft (military designations)	C-6 C-28 JRS JR2S PS RS XBLR-3 XPBS XSS XV-2
Helicopters (company designations)	VS-300 (S-46) S-47 S-48 S-49 S-50 S-51 S-52 S-53 S-54 S-55 S-56 S-57 S-58 S-59 S-60 S-61 S-61L/N S-61R S-62 S-63 S-64 S-65 S-66 S-67 S-68 S-69 S-70 S-71 S-72 S-74 S-75 S-76 S-80 S-92 S-97 S-300 S-333 S-434
Helicopters (military designations)	SH-3 HH-3E/F R-4 H-5 H-6 H-18 H-19 H-34 CH-37 XH-39 HH-52A CH-53 CH-53E CH-53K CH-54 HLH HH-60G HH-60J MH-60R/S SH-60B/F SH-60J/K UH-60 VH-60 RAH-66 H-92 CH-124 CH-148
Experimental aircraft	Cypher Cypher II Firefly X2 XBLR-3 XV-2

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