Sikorsky Receives Contract to Deliver Two S-70i™ Black Hawk Helicopters to the Los Angeles County Fire Department

Aircraft will be modified to Firehawk™ configuration for aerial firefighting and multi-role missions

STRATFORD, Conn., Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) company, received a contract from the County of Los Angeles for two S-70i™ Black Hawk helicopters in a baseline configuration. Sikorsky is assembling the two new S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for delivery to L.A. County in December 2017.

Compared to the S-70A model, the S-70i aircraft will feature wide chord rotor blades for enhanced lift, a stronger airframe, a digital glass cockpit with flight management system for enhanced situation awareness, and a cockpit voice and flight data recorder. An Integrated Vehicle Health Management system will monitor the aircraft's operational health.

In addition to aerial firefighting, a Firehawk helicopter also performs command and control of other firefighting aircraft, EMS transport, search and rescue, and logistic support. Thomas Ewald, assistant fire chief of L.A. County's Air and Wildland Division, said "nothing close compares with the Firehawk. No other aircraft does all five missions as well." 

Ewald added: "The Firehawk has repeatedly proven its reliability and ruggedness. The stresses we place on the aircraft when we take on and then aggressively release 8,000 pounds of water multiple times a day are far more than what its military variant might do in normal operations at maximum gross weight. Like a good pick-up truck, we beat it up and it keeps coming back for more."

"The new and more capable S-70i Black Hawk helicopters will provide L.A. County and the fire department with the most effective firefighting and multi-mission aircraft available, said Dan Schultz, president of Sikorsky. "We thank L.A. County for its continued confidence in Sikorsky and the Black Hawk helicopter, and for our close collaboration that has resulted in advances in aerial firefighting. We offer our congratulations to the courageous firefighters, aircrews and maintainers who employ this unique capability for the highest ideal of public service."

Once modified by a specialist outfitter in 2018 with a 1,000-gallon (3,785-liter) water tank, extended landing gear, single pilot cockpit layout and a medically-equipped interior, the new aircraft will increase to five the L.A. County Fire Department's fleet of Firehawk™ multi-role helicopters.

"This acquisition supplements our county's potent aerial firefighting arsenal and our ability to knock down wildfires to protect life and property," said LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. "The Firehawk provides a very effective initial attack platform to battle fires along with multi-mission capability for alternate needs including EMS and search and rescue."

Sikorsky supports the critical mission of the L.A. Country fire department with an all new airframe of the S-70i Black Hawk aircraft, which are available direct from Sikorsky in the U.S. Customers can order aircraft with mission sets and features customized to specific preferences. The Los Angeles CountyFire Department was the first municipal organization to purchase the Firehawk in December 2000. 

Black Hawk is a registered trademark of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

Sikorsky Proposes Aerial Firefighting Solution to Operators of Black Hawk Helicopters in Latin America

The Firehawk Aerial Firefighting Mission Package can be retrofitted to the region’s existing Black Hawk fleets

Black Hawk helicopters in Latin America can be modified to Firehawk configuration for aerial firefighting and multi-role missions. Photo by Skip Robinson

SANTIAGO, Chile, April 4, 2018 – Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), today launched at FIDAE 2018 a two-month promotional tour of Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Peru to raise awareness of the Black Hawk helicopter’s effectiveness as an aerial firefighting platform. Many of the Black Hawk helicopters delivered to the region’s militaries and government agencies over the last 30 years can easily be equipped to carry water and foam to fight wildland fires that are growing both in severity and frequency.

“Latin America is increasingly susceptible to wildfires that threaten lives and property, and the firefighting season also is shown to be lengthening,” said Adam Schierholz, Sikorsky Vice President & Regional Sales Executive for Latin America. “We are bringing the lessons learned from California, where our FIREHAWK Aerial Firefighting Mission Package added to a Black Hawk helicopter has proved to be highly effective attacking wildland fires with large volumes of water, especially when the effort is coordinated closely with firefighters attacking the same fire from the ground.”

Since the early 2000s, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department has demonstrated repeatedly the effectiveness of its three Firehawk helicopters to extinguish fires that have threatened the county’s 10 million residents, who live at sea level up to 3048 m (10,000 feet) altitude. In February 2018, the county ordered two more Firehawk helicopters for entry into service in early 2019. The same month, the City of San Diego ordered its first Firehawk aircraft.

The Firehawk Aerial Firefighting Mission Package consists of a 3,785-liter (1,000-gallon) water tank with a retractable snorkel attached to the belly of the aircraft, and an extended main landing gear. A rescue hoist and a medically-configured interior are options, particularly where the aircraft will be deployed for multiple missions, such as search and rescue, air medical transport, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. An additional option converts the Firehawk cockpit for single pilot use.

The FIREHAWK Aerial Firefighting Mission Package is compatible with older model UH-60L and S-70A Black Hawk helicopters delivered during the late 1980s into the early 2000s; and with newer model UH-60M, S-70M and S-70i Black Hawk aircraft, which feature a digital cockpit, wide chord main rotor blades and more powerful engines.

Colombia operates the region’s largest fleet of Black Hawk helicopters, with almost 100 acquired since 1988. Argentina, Brazil and Chile collectively operate another 22 Black Hawk aircraft.

Sikorsky will conduct the tour from April into June with representatives from United Rotorcraft, an aircraft completion company based in Colorado. United Rotorcraft is teamed with Sikorsky to configure Black Hawk aircraft for the aerial firefighting mission.

For additional information, visit our website: https://lockheedmartin.com/us/products/firehawk.html