Sikorsky Hkp16 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. A highly specialised version of the MH-60 fitted with a ‘stealth’ kit has also been developed which was used in the raid against Osama Bin Laden in 2011 – no official photos of this stealth Black Hawk exist.

The Swedish Air Force originally ordered a fleet of 15 UH-60M Black Hawks from the US in 2011 to fulfil an operational requirement for a Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopter for use in Afghanistan. As with most types in service with the Swedish military, their helicopters are referred to by a bespoke designation, in this case it is the Hkp16. During July 2024, Sweden ordered a further 12 examples from the US.

Despite entering military service during 1979 and being in service with over 35 nations, no version of the Black Hawk family has ever appeared in the flying display at the Air Tattoo. We are therefore pleased to announce that the Swedish Air Force will be sending a pair of Hkp16 Black Hawks to RIAT25 to appear both in our flying display and on the ground on static.

Photo Credit: Peter Reoch