Sikorsky offers armed kits for Black Hawk — Breaking Defense
In Poland, the PZL Mielec facility manufactures Black Hawk helicopters, for which Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, offers modular armament kits. In a sponsored article, Breaking Defense reports that the kits can convert multi-role UH-60M or S-70i Black Hawks into armed aircraft and then return them to their standard configuration. According to Sikorsky, the transition to the strike configuration takes less than three hours, while removing the equipment takes several minutes.
Kits for support and strikes
The manufacturer offers two options: a kit for direct fire support and a kit for precision strikes. The first is intended for operations against lightly armored vehicles and infantry. The second provides for engaging fortified targets, suppressing air defenses, and striking priority targets.
According to Sikorsky, the kits can have from two to six hardpoints. They are compatible with 7.62 mm machine guns, .50-cal GP 19 armament, M261 rocket pods, as well as Hellfire II, JAGM, APKWS, and Spike NLOS missiles. Compatible systems also include the Modular Effects Launcher.
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The company states that installing the wing and armament does not reduce passenger or cargo capacity. In this configuration, the helicopter can, according to the company, carry 11 fully equipped troops or up to 3,000 pounds of internal cargo.
Production and servicing in Europe
Sikorsky notes that the armed and unarmed configurations share 95% of their parts. This is intended to allow crews to train with the same cockpit layout and technical personnel to maintain a single fleet rather than separate transport and attack helicopters.
PZL Mielec has been manufacturing Black Hawks since 2010 for 18 customers in 11 countries. The article also notes that different versions of these helicopters are operated by 12 European countries. In July, production of Europe’s first S-70 Firehawks for Czechia began in Mielec. Sikorsky designated the Czech company Česká letecká servisní as a certified Black Hawk spare-parts distribution center in the European Union.
