Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was originally developed as the replacement for the UH-1 Huey in US Army service as its primary troop transport following a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61A. Since then, over 5,000 Black Hawks have been built and orders for new airframes are regularly being placed by current and new operators. The UH-60 has expanded into a variety of versions including the navalised SH-60 Seahawk, and the HH-60 Pave Hawk/MH-60 Jayhawk for special operations uses. A civilian version is also available which is used for specialist missions including firebombing. 

Slovakia currently operates a fleet of nine UH-60M helicopters which are all based at Prešov Air Base. These are shortly going to be supplemented by an additional pair of UH-60M and 12 UH-60L models acquired from the US military. 

Following the RIAT flying display debut of the Black Hawk last year by the Swedish Air Force, the Slovak Air Force will this year be bringing their Black Hawk solo display to RIAT26.  

Photo Credit: Simone Marcato