UH-60 Blackhawk Or S-70 BlackHawk
The UH-60A entered service in 1979, and is a versatile helicopter able to carry a useful cargo payload (including a 4.13 in/105 mm howitzer and 50 rounds of ammunition) as an alternative to its standard load of embarked infantrymen. At first there were a number of in-service problems with the transmission, but a new gearbox has been developed to improve reliability and increase maximum take-off weight to 26,450 lb (11997 kg), which allows the carriage of a greater assortment of external loads as well as improved armament.
The UH-60A is also qualified for the carriage of AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles and the Honeywell Volcano dispenser system with 950 Gator anti-personnel and anti-vehicle minelets.
From 1989 most helicopters have been upgraded in the Aircraft Survivability Equipment program to
UH-60A Enhanced Black Hawk: standard with Omega navigation, satellite communications, AEL APR-44 3 specific-threat RWR complementing the original general-threat APR-39 RWR, and provision for the M60 machine gun to be replaced by the M134 Minigun.
The US Army plans a total procurement of 2,262 H-60 series helicopters, and production of the UH-60A reached 985 helicopters before the improved UH-60L was introduced.
EH-60A Black Hawk: This SEMA (Special Electronics Mission Aircraft) variant is intended for the interception, monitoring, localization, and jamming of battlefield communication nets with the 1,800 lb (816 kg) ESL ALQ-151 'Quick Fix II' ECM system (a development of the system originally fitted on the Bell EH-1H Iroquois and comprising an intercept receiver and a Northrop ALQ-162 radar jammer) using four fuselage-mounted dipole antennae, a deployable whip antenna, and a cabin-located data bank.
The type first flew in YEH-60A prototype form during September 1981, and 66 production helicopters were delivered between 1987 and 1989 with a hover IR suppression subsystem and ASN-32 INS.
The helicopters were to have received the revised designation EH-60C Black Hawk after the retrofit of the Aircraft Survivability Equipment defensive suite with the APR-39 3 RWR and two M130 chaff/flare dispensers as well as the Sanders ALQ-156 missile warning system, but the change of designation was not implemented, and the H-60C designation is currently reserved for an EH-60C command and control helicopter that has not yet received any funding.
The core designation H-60B was reserved for the first Seahawk naval version of the S-70 series.
The HH-60D Night Hawk was planned as the US Air Force's combat SAR variant of the UH-60A with the dynamic system and rescue winch of the SH-60B. The avionics proposed for this important type included advanced radar, FLIR, Litton INS, and multi-function cockpit and helmet displays. Other equipment included stub wings for two 230 US gal (191.5 Imp gal; 870.6 liter) external tanks, a retractable inflight-refueling probe, two side-mounted machine guns and other items.
The type was canceled in 1989 after the completion of a single prototype.
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