Sikorsky has made more than 5,000 Black Hawk helicopters and variants since the helicopter’s 1974 debut with the U.S. Army, which uses it for utility and air-assault missions.
In addition to the UH-60 Black Hawk — the helicopter involved in a crash with a passenger jet on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. — similar Sikorsky models include the Navy MH-60 Seahawk and Knighthawk; the Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk and newer Jolly Green II; the Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk; and the VH-60N White Hawk that is part of the White House fleet. Sikorsky also makes civilian Firehawk helicopters for states, counties and municipalities that fly them to suppress wildfires.
GE Aerospace makes Black Hawk engines, with the Army planning to install upgraded engines in the coming years for the existing fleet of Black Hawk helicopters that will provide a 50% increase in power and better fuel efficiency. Sikorsky on Wednesday announced the commencement of ground tests on the new engines at a development facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Black Hawk is equipped with night-vision equipment and other systems allowing for operations in darkness. Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin have been developing autonomous flight systems to help pilots fly safely in challenging conditions, including landings, with Sikorsky having test-flown a Black Hawk with no crew aboard to demonstrate its ability to fly a mission autonomously.
Where does Sikorsky make the Black Hawk?
Sikorsky makes Black Hawk fuselages at a large facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, then transports them to Stratford for further assembly on a production line alongside CH-53K King Stallion cargo helicopters being built for the U.S. Marine Corps, in a sprawling bay for the purpose. Composite rotor blades and titanium rotor set heads are manufactured in Stratford as well. Sikorsky has a large number of external contractors that make other parts and systems installed on helicopters, some of them in Connecticut.
It typically takes more than 40 weeks to complete a Black Hawk in Connecticut. Lockheed Martin then installs radar, communications and mission systems at a separate facility in Owego, New York.
Sikorsky makes Black Hawks for international sale at Lockheed Martin’s PZL Mielec factory in Poland.
What are the flight capabilities?
The newest UH-60M Black Hawk is designed to carry 11 passengers and four crew members, with more than 9,000 pounds of lift capacity, according to a Sikorsky brochure. The helicopter has a cruising speed of 174 mph, and a top speed of 183 mph in level flight, with a range of 370 miles when equipped for combat duty and farther with a lighter load.
The Black Hawk has a maximum altitude of about 19,000 feet, and can climb at more than 1,500 feet per minute at lower altitudes.
Black Hawk helicopters include “black box” systems with what Sikorsky calls a “Crash Survivable Memory Unit” that captures flight information for any subsequent analysis after mishaps.
How many Black Hawks has Sikorsky manufactured?
Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky in November 2015 from United Technologies, and reported in 2023 the completion of the 5,000th Black Hawk. In its 2024 World Air Forces report, Flight Global reported nearly 3,940 Black Hawks and variant helicopters were in use globally as of its most recent survey, including helicopters based on the Black Hawk design manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for Japan’s military.
Another 920 Black Hawk helicopters and variants are either on order or in the pipeline otherwise for militaries globally, including 360 Black Hawk helicopters for the U.S. Army.
