Ukrainian Armed Forces show their first UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter

@DefAviation ES 2·21·2023 · 20:52 0

Today Ukraine has given a surprise by showing its first UH-60 Black Hawk, something unexpected, since the US did not announce any delivery of these helicopters.

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The announcement was made by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR), publishing two photos of the UH-60 on its website, in a statement titled: "The military intelligence aviation of Ukraine performs combat missions on the first line of defense".

The text reads as follows: "Ukrainian military intelligence aviation continues its work on the first line of defense of our state. Reconnaissance pilots have just returned from another combat mission." The statement, which makes no mention of the UH-60, adds the following: "The combat helicopters significantly increase the capabilities of the special units of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the effectiveness of special operations. GUR MO pilots continue to destroy the enemy in all areas of the front."

One of the images shows a Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter of Soviet origin (on the right) and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk on the right. We can see here an extension of the helicopter of American origin:

The GUR has published a second photo of the UH-60. The helicopter bears the Ukrainian military cockade painted on the engine and the Ukrainian flag on the tailgate. There are two details that stand out and that is that the helicopter has glossy paint, something typical of civil aircraft (military aircraft have matte paint to go more unnoticed), and it also has painted some blue and white lines.

These details have helped some analysts identify the helicopter. This is a UH-60A from the American company Ace Aeronautics. Here we can see it with the US civilian registration N60FW at a photo released by that company on Oct 17, 2019. The helicopter fuselage decoration matches the UH -60 of the photos shown by the GUR. Coincidentally, the part of the tail where the helicopter's license plate appeared does not appear in the photo released today.

Here we can see a video from Ace Aeronautics showing that same UH-60A taking off from Guntersville Municipal Airport, Alabama, 11 months ago:

The N60FW registration with the FAA indicates that the helicopter would have been acquired by Ace Aeronautics in November 2015. This company is dedicated to updating aircraft for private and government clients. A year ago it delivered a modernized UH-60A to the Austrian Armed Forces.

Helis.com data on that helicopter indicates that it was built in 1980 under construction number 70-197, being delivered to United States Army Aviation under serial number 80-23439. At the end of November 2022, that helicopter was still in the US, so its delivery to Ukraine must have been recently. At Aircraft.com there is a review of this helicopter, aimed at its possible sale, which includes this description:

The FAA notes the following: "A restricted category special airworthiness certificate is issued to operate aircraft that have been type certificated in the restricted category. Operation of restricted category aircraft is limited to special purposes identified in the applicable type design." These categories include agricultural, forestry, photographic, infrastructure surveillance, and other utility uses.

On March 8, 2022, Ace Aeronautics published this photo of the helicopter in question with an AGM-114 Hellfire missile mount and an M134 Minigun machine gun. The photo was taken at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, and its description read as follows: "our Blue AceDeck helicopter, with L3 WESCAM Electro-Optical Sensor (EOS) on our STC-ed sensor mount, and CFD International's External Gun Mount System (EGMS), complete with Hellfire missiles and an M134 Gatling Gun that can be fixed-forward or used by the crew chief/door gunner. The UH-60A shown by Ukraine does not include these weapon mounts nor the L3 WESCAM sight on its front.

Taking into account that Ukraine already has an operational UH-60, it would not be a bad idea for other countries, especially the US (which is the largest operator of this helicopter) to be encouraged to deliver more Black Hawks to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces need all the help they can get to beat Russia, and an excellent helicopter like the UH-60 could be a big help.