Airframer
ProgramsSikorsky S-70A Black Hawk

Aircraft program

Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk

In production
Logbook Follow this page and keep your own private notes on it — log in to start

Medium multirole helicopter with twin turboshaft engines. Initially designed for military missions, primarily troop transport but now has multiple configurations for maritime, police, aerial firefighting and border patrol services, search and rescue, VIP/executive transport and medevac.

Light alloy airframe with two rotors - main and tail. Wide chord, four blade, main rotor made from composites with anhedral tips. Tail rotor cross beams also made from composites. Both rotors foldable for transport of the helicopter. Cockpit doors, canopy, fairings and engine cowlings made from glass fibre and kevlar with floors made from glass fibre/Nomex. Also features a non-retractable tail wheel.

Generally four crew - pilot and co-pilot on flight deck in crashworthy seats, plus two gunners. 11 foldable seats in cabin. Fly-by-wire glass cockpit with digital avionics and four multi-function displays.

Lift type
Rotary wing
Construction
Factory-built
Control
Piloted, Autonomous
Engine type
Turboshaft
Application
Military transport, Utility
Final assembly

Fleet facts business use worldwide · as at August 2026

In business use
12 aircraft
Production years
1984-2017
Average age
25.6 years
Main base countries
U.S.A. (1)

Figures cover the worldwide fleet in business use — airline and military examples are not included. Fleet data: Business Air News research.

Design & construction

Landing gear
Retractable tricycle
Pressurisation
Unpressurised
Flight controls
Hydro-mechanical
Autopilot
3-axis
Avionics architecture
Integrated glass suite
Rotor configuration
Single main + tail
Certification
Military
Minimum crew
2

Technical reference compiled with AI research; a value appears only where two independent research passes and a web fact-check agree. Gaps are deliberate.

A deeper insight into the Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk

Supplier geography and market analysis for this program — shown free on sponsored programs, or with an Analytics subscription.

See Analytics rates
The industry ledger — an Analytics feature — holds every dated event on this program: contracts, certifications, first flights and appointments, each linked to its source. See a worked example →

Type variants

VariantLaunch / first flightProduction endNotes
Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk1972 / 1974Production: 16 (2026) GAMA: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Blackhawk. Baseline variant.
Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk1972 / 1974Sikorsky's designation for Black Hawk, also often used in export variants' designantion, includes FireHawk aerial firefighting variant.
Sikorsky S-70C1985 / 1985Civilian variant.
Mitsubishi UH-60J1988 / 1989Japanese variants built under license, includes UH-60JA variant for JGSDF.
Sikorsky UH-60M2001 / 2003Improved Black Hawk variant, formerly known as UH-60L.
Sikorsky S-70i International Black Hawk2006 / 2010Production: 10 (2023). International military variant, final assembly by PZL Mielec.
Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter2014 / 2019To replace HH-60G Pave Hawk, also known as HH-60W Whiskey, derived from UH-60M.
TAI T-702014 / 2017Variants for Turkish armed forces, final assembly in Turkey.
Sikorsky Innovations S-70UAS U-Hawk2025 / Unmanned conversion of UH-60L Black Hawk, cockpit & seating replaced with forward loading capability and 25% more cargo space. In development, with first flight expected 2026.

Airframer

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin companyNews
Mitsubishi Aircraft CorporationUH-60 modified variant

Other aircraft programs: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II · Mitsubishi F-X · Mitsubishi X-2 · Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion · Sikorsky Innovations HEX · Sikorsky Nomad · Sikorsky S-70B SeaHawk · Sikorsky S-76 · Sikorsky S-92 Superhawk · Sikorsky S-97 Raider ·

Find other programs with these properties in the aircraft programs directory.

Program milestones 161 dated events

The program’s dated history — milestones, contracts, supplier selections and facilities, each linked to its source. Log in to view.

Information on this page is compiled from a variety of published sources; links do not necessarily imply recommendation or confirmation by the airframe manufacturer.

Spotted something wrong or out of date on this page? Tell us

Corrections go straight to the editorial team that maintains this directory.