Amphibious transport dock ships like John P. Murtha have many unique capabilities that make them ideal platforms to support special operations forces, such as the ability to embark helicopters from the joint force, launch and recover Naval Special Warfare combatant craft, and maintain all-domain awareness through advanced sensors.
Operations NOBLE DEFENDER and POLAR DAGGER sharpen joint special operations integration and provides the forces the opportunity to test new capabilities and advance response options in defense of the U.S. homeland.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Samoluk.
In its fourth decade, the versatile Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk has enhanced the overall mobility of the Army due to dramatic improvements in troop capacity and cargo lift capability over the years. The Black Hawk was developed as a result of the U.S. Army’s requirement in 1972 for a simple, robust, and reliable utility helicopter system to satisfy projected air-mobile requirements around the globe.
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter mission is to provide air assault, general support, medical evacuation (medevac), search and rescue (SAR) command and control, and special operations support to combat, stability, and support operations.The UH-60 also is the Army’s utility tactical transport helicopter.
Named after Native American war chief and leader of the Sauk tribe in the Midwest, Black Hawk, the first UH-60A was accepted by the Army in 1978, and entered service in 1979 when it was delivered to aviation components of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions.
Since that time, the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter has accumulated more than 9 million total fleet hours and has supported Soldiers in every major contingency operation the Army has executed, including Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East.
UNITAS is an annual international exercise in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility where partner nations participate in multinational exchanges to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability, and build and maintain regional relationships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Colbey Livingston.
Today, the U.S. Army continues to integrate emerging technology enhancements into the Black Hawk fleet to increase the performance, reliability, availability, and maintainability of the platform through addition of technologies such as the integration of the improved turbine engine; upgrades to the airframe, including an improved troop seat for additional crash-worthiness; and a lightweight, composite all-moving tail.
“Developing and fielding an aircraft that has earned and maintained an extraordinary reputation of remarkable service supporting Soldiers over a full spectrum of military operations these past 40 years is the direct result of the incredible efforts of all the government and industry teammates who have supported the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk program throughout the history of the program,” said Col. Billy Jackson, program manager for Program Executive Office for Aviation’s Utility Helicopters Program Office in a previous news article. “I’m exceptionally proud of this team and the herculean effort everyone puts in managing a very complex program with such sustained success.”
According to the Army Program Executive Office for Aviation, today, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk makes up the Army’s largest rotary wing fleet with more than 2,100 airframes in the current inventory.
As production of the most current UH-60M model continues, over the coming years the Army will divest its remaining UH-60A and UH-60L aircraft, to be replaced by 760 UH-60V Black Hawk helicopters.
With multiple versions of the H-60 Black Hawk in service, the helicopter is considered the “workhorse” of Army aviation. Besides being the U.S Army’s primary tactical transport helicopter, approximately 1,200 H-60 helicopters operate in 30 partner and allied nations.
For nearly half a century the Black Hawk helicopter fleet has served remarkably as the primary medium lift, multi-role helicopter for the U.S. Army. With planned major upgrades on the horizon, the platform will be a key component of the Army aviation fleet through 2054.
In July and August 2022, the Utility Helicopters Project Office completed a “successful Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) of the UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter at Fort McCoy.”
The UH-60V is an upgraded variant of the legacy UH-60L with a digital glass cockpit and integrated avionics suite. The purpose of the test and evaluation (was) to demonstrate and assess the degree to which the aircraft meets its designated requirements and set the conditions for the full rate production point. The IOT&E began July 5 and during three weeks of preliminary testing, pilots flew more than 120 hours with five UH-60V Black Hawk helicopters under realistic battlefield conditions.
(Information by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office with supported from the Army Program Executive Office for Aviation)
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