Philippine Air Force completes S-70i Black Hawk fleet acquisition

The Philippine Air Force has taken delivery of the last seven of 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters it ordered from Lockheed Martin's Polish subsidiary PZL Mielec. That completes a second procurement contract signed in 2022.

The handover took place at Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on August 26, 2026, according to the report. The delivery brings the air force's total Black Hawk fleet to 47 aircraft, making the Philippines the largest operator of the S-70i variant worldwide.

Two separate contracts built up the fleet. An initial 2019 agreement covered 16 helicopters for roughly $205 million. Those aircraft arrived in 2020 and 2021 and were used in disaster response, including relief work after Typhoon Odette. One of the original 16 was destroyed in a 2021 crash in Capas, Tarlac, leaving 15 operational from that batch.

A follow-on contract for 32 more helicopters, worth about $571 million, was signed in 2022. Those aircraft came in stages: ten in 2024, ten more in 2025, five in January 2026, and the final seven in August 2026.

The program falls under Horizon 2 of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, established under Republic Act No. 10349. Officials say the Black Hawks are meant to replace the air force's older UH-1H Huey helicopters, which had grown increasingly difficult to maintain for troop transport and search-and-rescue missions.