Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, launched Wednesday a two-month promotional tour of Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru to raise awareness of the Black Hawk’s aerial firefighting capabilities.
Many of the Black Hawk helicopters delivered to the region’s militaries and government agencies over the last three decades can be equipped to carry water and foam to fight wildland fires, the company said.
“Latin America is increasingly susceptible to wildfires that threaten lives and property, and the firefighting season also is shown to be lengthening,” Adam Schierholz, Sikorsky Vice President & Regional Sales Executive for Latin America, said. “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.”
The Firehawk Aerial Firefighting Mission Package includes a 1,000-gallon water tank with a retractable snorkel attached to the belly of the aircraft and an extended main landing gear. Other options include a rescue hoist, a medically-configured interior, and the conversion of the Firehawk cockpit for single pilot use.
The package is compatible with older model UH-60L and S-70A Black Hawk helicopters, which were delivered during the late 1980s into the early 2000s, as well as with newer model UH-60M, S-70M, and S-70i Black Hawk aircraft.
Colombia operates the region’s largest fleet of Black Hawk helicopters and has acquired almost 100 since 1988. Argentina, Brazil, and Chile collectively operate 22 Black Hawk aircraft.
Sikorsky will conduct the tour from April through June with representatives from United Rotorcraft, a Colorado-based aircraft completion company that is working with Sikorsky to configure Black Hawk aircraft for the aerial firefighting mission.