UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition in 1972. The Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61. The UH-60A entered service with the Army in 1979, to replace the UH-1 Iroquois as the Army's tactical transport helicopter.
Development of UH-60 Black Hawk
Development of the next improved variant, the UH-60M, was approved in 2001, to extend the service life of the UH-60 design into the 2020s. The UH-60M incorporates upgraded T700-GE-701D engines and improved rotor blades. It also features state of the art electronic instrumentation, flight controls and aircraft navigation control. Production of the UH-60M began in 2006, with the first of 22 new UH-60Ms delivered in July 2006. After an initial operational evaluation, the Army approved full-rate production and a five-year contract for 1,227 helicopters in December 2007. As of 25 March 2009, 100 UH-60M helicopters had been delivered to the Army.
UH-60 Black Hawk foreign country
The Mexican Air Force received its first UH-60s in 1994, to transport special forces units. In March 2009, the United States stated it would provide helicopters and other equipment under the Mérida Initiative, to fight the drug cartels in the Mexican drug war. In July and August 2009, the Federal Police used UH-60s in attacks on drug traffickers.