On 22 February the Philippines signed a contract for 32 additional S-70i Black Hawk helicopters. This follows an order for 16 units placed in 2019, the first batch of which was inducted into service in December 2020 (seen here). (Philippine Department of National Defense )
The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) signed a PHP32 billion (USD624 million) contract for the acquisition of 32 Lockheed Martin S-70i Black Hawk utility helicopters for the Philippine Air Force (PAF), the DND announced on 22 February.
The contract, which was signed on that day by Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana and PZL Mielec president Mr Janusz Zakręcki, includes an integrated logistics support and training package for pilots and maintenance crew, the DND said. The helicopters will be manufactured by PZL Mielec – a Lockheed Martin company in Poland.
“Hopefully, the delivery of these new utility helicopters will start soon. I think we will not be here anymore to receive these helicopters, but nonetheless, we will be happy to see the improvement of the capability of the Philippine Air Force,” Lorenzana said.
The contract announcement follows a notice of award (NOA) issued to PZL Mielec on 28 December 2021.
As previously reported by Janes , the delivery of these new helicopters will start in calendar year (CY) 2023 (five units), while the remaining 27 will be delivered in three batches in CY 2024 (10 units), CY 2025 (10 units), and CY 2026 (seven units).
The Philippines ordered an initial batch of 16 S-70is in 2019 for USD241 million to meet the PAF‘s Combat Utility Helicopter (CUH) requirement under the ‘Horizon 2‘ phase of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP).
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