Photo: Philippine Air Force (PAF)
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has received another five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from the Polish manufacturer PZL Mielec, delivered on 9 December. This delivery took place at Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga, and represents the second batch received this year.
The helicopters are currently undergoing Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee (TIAC) checks before being officially commissioned into service. The first batch of five S-70i helicopters was delivered on 10 June and quickly became operational within the PAF.
Colonel Consuelo Castillo, the PAF spokesperson, highlighted that these ten helicopters are part of a larger 32-unit contract with PZL Mielec, signed in February 2022 under then Department of National Defence (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. The contract, valued at PHP32 billion, includes logistics support, along with pilot and maintenance crew training. An additional 15 helicopters are anticipated to arrive by 2025, while the remaining seven are expected by 2026.
Colonel Castillo emphasised the versatility of the S-70i helicopters, stating that they are crucial in various operations. She said, “Our Black Hawks are very important because [we] used them for a range of missions, we used them for internal security operations, we used them for medical search and rescue, we used them for HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief). They are heavily used especially (because) we have had a lot of typhoons the past months,” as quoted from the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on 12 December. She also pointed out the advantages of the S-70i models, noting that they are “much faster, durable and could carry a heavier load than other helicopters in PAF service.”
The Department of National Defence previously acquired 16 S-70i helicopters from PZL Mielec between 2020 and 2021, at a cost of PHP11.5 billion. However, one of these helicopters was lost during a night-flying exercise on 24 June 2021 when it crashed.
In a related development, the PAF deployed two S-70i helicopters on 9 December to conduct a rapid damage assessment and needs analysis (RDANA) in Negros Occidental following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon. The operation aimed to gather crucial data on potential hazards and areas in need of urgent attention.
The aerial survey included experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), officials from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental, and representatives from the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) in Regions 6 and 7.
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