Philippines to get first S-70i Black Hawk training simulators

The Philippine air force will get its first Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk training equipment under a contract announced on 8 October. The package includes a full flight simulator, a virtual maintenance trainer, and sustainment and spares support through 2032.

Sikorsky calls the full flight simulator a digital twin that reproduces the flight dynamics of an aircraft in service. The virtual maintenance trainer simulates airframe systems on a physics basis, from hydraulics to avionics, and lets users work through maintenance tasks in interactive 3D.

The deal was a direct commercial sale, a route that lets buyers avoid the lengthy approval process attached to Foreign Military Sales for less sensitive equipment. The contract's value has not been disclosed.

With the equipment in place, the service will be able to train Black Hawk pilots and maintainers in the country. Until then, pilots will keep training at the Sikorsky academy in the United States. No date has been given for when local training will begin.

The Philippines flies 47 of the S-70i-model helicopters, using them across the archipelago for search and rescue, humanitarian aid and troop transport, among other missions. One of the country's Black Hawks was written off after a crash in 2021.

The purchase is part of the Philippines' wider defence modernisation work. The programme's third phase, known as Horizon 3, was announced in January 2024. It is a ten-year plan valued at roughly Ps2 trillion, or about $35 billion, centred on archipelagic defence.