Philippines welcomes final five Black Hawks
One of the five S-70i helicopters is unloaded from an Antonov cargo aircraft. (Photo: PAF)
Delivery of five S-70i helicopters to the Philippines marks the completion of a 16-aircraft order.
PZL Mielec has delivered the final batch of Poland-made S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippines.
Five S-70i helicopters landed in-country on 9 November, the government-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.
It cited Philippine Air Force spokesman Col Maynard Mariano as saying that technical inspections of these aircraft are underway before they are commissioned into service.
The PAF ordered 16 S-70i helicopters from PZL Mielec for $241 million (PHP11.5 billion) in April 2019.
The first six were delivered in November 2020 while the second batch of five arrived in June 2021.
One helicopter from the initial six crashed later that month while on a night-flying exercise.
‘These helicopters will boost the Armed Forces of the Philippines' capability to conduct various operations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions,’ according to the PNA.
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