MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force received five additional Black Hawk helicopters on Friday, November 14, the latest batch in a multiyear procurement effort aimed at replacing the country's aging fleet.
The S-70i Black Hawk helicopters were turned over at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, in a ceremony attended by Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, PAF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura and Defense Undersecretary Salvador Mison Jr.
According to the Air Force, the units arrived in the country on October 20 and underwent technical inspection from October 22 to 26. They form the fourth batch under a 32-unit deal with Poland’s PZL Mielec, funded through the AFP modernization program. The 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing will operate the new aircraft.
The deliveries follow earlier batches with five choppers each, delivered in June and December 2024 and in July this year. Once all 32 units are completed, the Black Hawk fleet is seen to become the backbone of the Air Force’s medium-lift operations.
"Renowned for their versatility, speed, and reliability, the S-70i Black Hawks enhance the PAF’s ability to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), troop and cargo transport, and tactical support operations,” the Air Force said.
The Philippines signed the P32-billion contract to acquire the Black Hawk helicopters from Poland in 2022.
Need for upgrades. The limits of the Philippines' own fleet of air assets have become clear with recent disasters, Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro said in a chance interview on Friday.
Speaking to reporters about the use of EDCA sites, Teodoro stressed that the sites themselves function mainly as warehouses for pre-positioned goods, and that the actual disaster-response work has relied on allied air assets.
He noted that while the Philippine Air Force’s Black Hawk helicopters are “good,” they are not large enough to haul the loads required to bring relief goods to thousands of people per day in storm-hit areas, forcing multiple trips.
“We’re looking for heavier helicopters,” Teodoro said, pointing to recent US Osprey operations in storm-hit provinces as an example of the vertical-lift capacity the Philippines still lacks.