The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a medium-lift utility or assault helicopter derived from the twin-turboshaft engine, single rotor Sikorsky S-70.

The YUH-60A (S-70) was the winner of the United States Army Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition in the early 1970s to replace the UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) family. It would go on to serve as the basis for variants in service with other branches of the US military.

Development

The Black Hawk was developed to meet a US Army Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) requirement for a UH-1 Iroquois replacement released in January 1972. Four prototypes were constructed, the first (YUH-60) flying in October 1974, and evaluated against a rival Boeing-Vertol design, the YUH-61A. A Preliminary Evaluation was conducted in November 1975 prior to delivery of the prototypes to the US Army. The evaluation was conducted to determine if the aircraft could be operated safely by typical Army pilots. Three of the prototypes were delivered to the US Army in March 1976, and one was kept by Sikorsky for internal research. The Black Hawk was selected for production in December 1976. Deliveries of the UH-60A to the US Army began in October 1978 and the helicopter entered service in June 1979.

In the late 1980s, the model was upgraded to the UH-60L (first production aircraft 89-26179) which featured more power and lift with the upgrade to the -701C model of the GE engine. The current production model (UH-60M) will extend the service life of the UH-60 design well into the 2020s, features still more power and lift and state of the art electronic instrumentation, flight controls and aircraft navigation control.

UH-60 Black Hawk