This Is the 5,000th Black Hawk Helicopter Ever Made, Will Serve With the U.S. Army

The Black Hawk was introduced in 1974, meaning the thing is just a year short of turning half a century. Like most other military hardware out there, it continues to operate, despite its age, and does so with great success.

Also like most other military hardware, its family grew to such an extent that today we have several high-profile variants. For maritime operations, there’s the MH-60R/S, multi-missions are performed using the MH-60T, while rescues happen all over the world thanks to the HH-60W.

The Black Hawk is in service with the militaries and other government entities in some 30 countries, but no other organization is as fond of the helicopter as the U.S. Army, Sikorsky's largest customer for the machine. You see, throughout its entire existence, the Black Hawk family had 5,000 members born, and of that some 2,000 are in use with the U.S. Army.

In fact, Black Hawk number 5,000, a UH-60M version, was just delivered by its maker to the military branch this past weekend, marking an important moment in the platform’s existence.

The UH-60M is a multi-mission bird, and the most recent addition to the Black Hawk family. It is operated by a crew of four and is powered by a pair of General Electric turboshaft engines that develop a little under 2,000 hp each.

The helicopter can travel at speeds of up to 183 mph (294 kph) and has a range of about 370 miles (590 km). It can be configured in many ways, but when ready for combat you’ll see it carrying various guns, rockets and missiles attached to hardpoints, and even bombs.

The Black Hawk will continue to be the backbone of the American military, at least when it comes to rotor aircraft. Already used in “every major contingency operation the Army has executed,” as Col. Calvin Lane, utility helicopter project manager for the Program Executive Office Aviation said when the 5,000th unit was received, it will continue to do so for at least another four decades.

The Army is presently running a modernization program for the Black Hawk, which will see some 1,200 of them get new and better tech installed. The main goals are to give it increased range and lift capabilities, but also make the family deadlier and more capable of surviving dangerous situations.

As a twist, Sikorsky is also gunning for autonomous applications for the Black Hawk, and in early 2022 it started a testing program with an uncrewed helicopter.