Summary The Firehawk variant of the Black Hawk can hold up to 1,000 gallons of water for firefighting missions. The Armed Black Hawk can provide suppressive fire with rockets and missiles, and is cost-effective for combat assault capabilities. The Black Hawk's utility version can lift up to 9,000 lbs of cargo internally or externally, with improvements in lift capacity over the years.
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is one of the most successful military medium-lift helicopters ever built. It first entered service in 1979 and remains in production. Over its life, the Black Hawk has been continuously modernized and updated and remains one of the leading military helicopters in the world.
The Black Hawk boasts many capabilities (although only the Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter allows pilots to eject ). 1 Firefighting The Firehawk can carry up to 1,000 gallons of water Water carried: Up to 8,000 lbs or 1,000 gallons Firefighters carried: 11 with equipment Method of carrying water: internal Fire Attack system or buckets Enemies come in many shapes and sizes; sometimes, the Black Hawk is tasked with fighting fires. Some Black Hawks come with an 850-gallon internal Fire Attack system designed for aerial firefighting (this means they no longer need belly-mounted tanks).
Attaching or removing the Fire Attack system only takes around 15 minutes; in this role, the Black Hawk is suitable for civilian use. Since 2000, the Los Angeles Fire Department has used the Black Hawk's Firehawk variant as an effective air and ground wildland fire attack team. Black Hawks can insert up to 11 wildland fighters and their gear and release up to 8,000 pounds (or 1,000 gallons) of water.
Lockheed's new S-70i Firehawk variant builds on the Black Hawk's firefighting capabilities. The Black Hawk fulfills a wide range of missions in the US Army - and even more outside of Army service. 2 Combat assault The Black Hawk has machine guns and up to 16 Hellfire missiles Rockets: 70mm (2.
75-inch) rockets Machine guns: .50 caliber and 7.62mm machine guns Missiles: Up to 16 Hellfire missiles While the Army's Apache is the primary attack helicopter , the armed Black Hawk does offer combat assault capabilities.
The Armed Black Hawk can provide suppressive fire with its high rate of sustained firing from 70mm rockets and .50 caliber forward-firing guns. It can also perform anti-armor roles, taking out tanks and other armored vehicles with its Hellfire missiles from stand-off distances.
The Armed Black Hawk brings a cost-effective attack capability to the third-generation Black Hawk. Sikorsky first qualified the weapon system to US military airworthiness standards in 2017, and it is now in operation in the United Arab Emirates. Poland is set to become the world's largest operator of the Apache attack helicopter after the United States.
3 External lift The utility version of the Black Hawk can carry up to 9,000 lbs Load capacity: 9,000 lbs Max gross weight: 22,000 lbs Troops carried: Up to 11 As the Black Hawk is primarily a utility helicopter, transporting cargo is one of its top capabilities. Its max gross weight is 22,000 lbs, and it can carry 9,000 lbs of supplies as an internal or external load. Lockheed states , " Sling load firefighting Bambi bucket or light vehicles from the cargo hook, then release to the ground from a hover.
" Improved engines and an improved gearbox have seen the Black Hawk's lift capacity increase over the years. The Black Hawk can transport 12 fully equipped seated troops "into the heat of battle." Eventually, the Black Hawk is expected to be replaced in the role by the Bell V280 Valor, which is currently in development .
The cancelation of FARA is the Army's third armed scout cancelation and now it will move to drone solutions. 4 Medevac HH-60M variant is dedicated to evacuating wounded troops Variant: UH-60M with medical mission equipment Developed for: Mainly US Army Replaces: HH-60 Pave Hawk The Black Hawk has a specialized Medevac variant. Lockheed Martin states , " Quickly replace troop seats with litters/stretchers to bring the wounded home.
Sikorsky’s dedicated HH-60M MEDEVAC variant for the US Army does this best. " In 2022, the West Virginia Guard's Aeromedical Evacuation Company received the first of six new HH-60M "Mike" model Black Hawk helicopters. These are specifically designed to support aerial medical and ambulatory services evacuating wounded troops from the battlefield under difficult weather conditions.
The State Aviation Officer stated , “ The Mike model is a 30-year leap in technology with several improvements to existing Black Hawk designs...
. the Mike model is the most advanced military air ambulance helicopter platform in service .” The Coast Guard operates a range of advanced fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft for search and rescue, patrol, and law enforcement missions.
5 Search and rescue HH-60W 'Whiskey' is the search and rescue Black Hawk Fuel: Double internal fuel capacity Fighting: Both offensive weapons and defensive systems Replaces: HH-60G Pave Hawks The Black Hawk's legacy of service began with the world's first helicopter rescue. Today, Black Hawks can carry out search and rescue missions by bolting on a rescue hoist while an electro-optical sensor and weather radar help assist the search and rescue missions. The Black Hawk's combat rescue variant is the HH-60W "Whiskey," built on the UH-60M and designed to add capability advancements to better support combat rescue and other special missions.
It doubles the internal fuel capacity without using auxiliary fuel tanks, provides a weapons suite and defensive systems, and offers range and survivability in a high-threat environment. Russia has lost many helicopters but the exact numbers and Russia's replacement rates are unknown..
