Mielec, Poland, December 03, 2021 - PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin Company, has transferred the final five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) during an official turnover ceremony attended by the Secretary of National Defence Delfin N. Lorenzana. The deliveries complete the contract for 16 multi-mission Combat Utility Helicopters in just over three years.
“Today, the Philippines becomes the largest operator of S-70i helicopters in Asia. Thank you for your trust in the Black Hawk helicopter and our dedicated Polish workforce.” - said Janusz Zakręcki, PZL Mielec president and general director. “I would like to express my thanks to the teams involved in the fulfillment of the contract – PZL and Sikorsky employees and the Philippine Air Force. Due to our fruitful collaboration, we manufactured and delivered all aircrafts on time despite the COVID 19 epidemic.”
The Philippine Government awarded PZL Mielec the contract for 16 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters in April 2019 as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act. The first batch of six Black Hawk helicopters was delivered in December 2020 followed by the second batch of five in June 2021.
The Black Hawk helicopter is a proven, best-in-class multi-mission helicopter platform. The PAF will be able to quickly configure its new Combat Utility Helicopter fleet for a range of military and humanitarian missions.
PZL Mielec is the largest Lockheed Martin aircraft manufacturing site outside the U.S. The company has more than 80 years’ experience producing aircraft, and since 2009 has manufactured 82 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for 10 countries.
Please follow @LMNews on Twitter and @LockheedMartin on Facebook for the latest announcements and news across the corporation.
