Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

UH-60 Black Hawk
A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk landing, 2019
General information
Type	Utility helicopter
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
Status	In service
Primary users	United States Army Republic of Korea Armed Forces Japan Self-Defense Forces Colombian Armed Forces
Number built	5,000 by January 2023[1]
History
Manufactured	1974–present
Introduction date	1979
First flight	17 October 1974
Developed from	Sikorsky S-70
Variants	Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk Mitsubishi H-60

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition in 1972. The Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61.

Named after the Native American war leader Black Hawk, the UH-60A entered service with the U.S. Army in 1979, to replace the Bell UH-1 Iroquois as the Army's tactical transport helicopter. This was followed by the fielding of electronic warfare and special operations variants of the Black Hawk. Improved UH-60L and UH-60M utility variants have also been developed. Modified versions have also been developed for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. In addition to U.S. Army use, the UH-60 family has been exported to several nations. Black Hawks have served in combat during conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Ukraine, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other areas in the Middle East.

Major variants include the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk used for naval purposes, Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk for combat search and rescue, with other upgrades for various export, VIP, and special operation variants. The latest utility variant is the UH-60M.