Sikorsky Aircraft has received a contract from United Rotorcraft, a division of Air Methods Corp., for five S-70 Black Hawk helicopters to be used in aerial firefighting. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The Stratford-headquartered Sikorsky will produce the aircraft at parent company Lockheed Martin”™s PZL Mielec manufacturing line in Poland for delivery between early 2022 and mid-2023. The first aircraft received will be configured as a Firehawk helicopter for the State of Colorado.
United Rotorcraft specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of ground and aerial mission-critical equipment for public safety missions and frontline workers. Thirteen S-70 Firehawk helicopters are currently being used to combat the wildfires spreading across California, and five more contracted aircraft are on the way.
“Sikorsky and United Rotorcraft have worked closely for 25 years to develop, test and upgrade two S-70 variants of the Firehawk helicopter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, CalFire and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department,” said Jason Lambert, vice president of Sikorsky Global Commercial and Military Systems. “We applaud United Rotorcraft”™s bold leadership to bring the toughest, safest, most reliable fire suppression and rescue helicopter in existence today into the hands of first responders sooner than ever.”
