Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
| UH-60 Black Hawk | |
|---|---|
| A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk landing, 2019 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Utility helicopter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Sikorsky Aircraft |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | United States Army |
| Number built | 5,000 by January 2023 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1974–present |
| Introduction date | 1979 |
| First flight | 17 October 1974 |
| Variants | |
| Notes | |
| Unit price $11.3m (2014) | |
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a 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.
Major variants include the Navy's SH-60 Seahawk, the Air Force's HH-60 Pave Hawk, the Coast Guard's MH-60 Jayhawk and the civilian S-70. In addition to use by U.S. armed forces, the UH-60 family has been exported to several nations and produced under contract in Japan as the Mitsubishi H-60.