The Philippine Air Force welcomed its final five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters at Clark Air Base on November 08, 2021.
The final batch of Blackhawks arrived in Pampanga from Poland aboard an Antonov transport plane, and is joining the 11 airframes already delivered.
Sadly, one of the 11 previously received helicopters crashed in June this year, killing all six crew on board.
The Philippines ordered 16 helicopters from Polish company PZL Mielec under a $241 million contract from 2019.
PZL Mielec is manufacturing the helicopters under license from Sikorsky USA. Both Sikorsky and PZL Mielec are part of Lockheed Martin.
The Blackhawks will boost the Philippines armed forces’ capaility to conduct various operations, including combat missions, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The Philippines is looking to further boost these capabilities with the potential purchase of retired South Korean Bell UH-1 utility helicopters.
