UH-60 'Black Hawk' | AMERICAN HELICOPTER WORKHORSE

[Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back everyone it's me Matt Smith so be having a wonderful day we're talking about blackhawk helicopters a lot of people have been requesting for this video honestly along with the Huey helicopter which yes I will be doing a review on in the future also we all know of the Blackhawk helicopter it has been around for a long time it is fitted in some fairly you know prominent movies including obviously Black Hawk Down which is literally one of my favorite war movies and some of you are probably in the comments section screaming at your keyboards telling me that it's the worst movie ever or whatever else you want to say well maybe you agree with me but the helicopter itself is still an iconic piece of American aviation and it's a I would really like to thank everyone who has served on it because this is quite a prominent aircraft for both medevac and cows evac I know for myself I have known people who have been injured or you know have unfortunately been lost in service being recovered by these aircraft in Afghanistan so to those who have served on them or continued serve on them thank you so much so we are talking about the uh-60 blackhawk helicopter which is a medium utility helicopter used for a wide variety of applications including troop transport and medical evacuations since its introduction in 1979 the uh-60 has distinguished itself as being one of the great one-size-fits-all median lift helicopters with its distribution reaching to almost every corner of the world Sikorsky built the uh-60 Black Hawk to withstand brutal ground fire while keeping passengers and crew safe according to the US Army the Black Hawk was developed due to the Army's requirement in 1972 for a simple robust and reliable utility helicopter system to satisfy projected M of our requirements around the world the helicopter is named after Black Hawk of war chief and leader of the South tribe in Midwestern United States Black Hawk was an ally for the British Army during the War of 1812 and fought against the US Army to push settlers away from his people in the South Territory the Sikorsky uh-60 Black Hawk has become a workhorse for the United States and other military forces the world over its capabilities have increased her roles to include Special Operations assignments assault medevac command and control and VIP transport duty on top of her inherent troop transport normal capabilities this includes delivering the Prez of the united states first production blackhawk entered service in 1979 and remains a primary fixture for many of even any army today two decades after its inception some 2600 total Blackhawks have been delivered worldwide the uh-60 blackhawk is designed to endure the most extreme conditions and provides enhanced security for military operations according to Sikorsky safety features of the blackhawk include ballistically tolerant rotor and drive systems high mass components retained high crash conditioning a anti plow keel beam reduced rollover potential with CFS installed energy absorbing landing gear up to 300 feet per second crash worthy fuel cells of 65 foot drops jettisonable cockpit doors and pop-out windows along with wire strike protection the blackhawk was born out of the sikorsky s-70 project designed by the united states army utility tactical transport aircraft system or utas which was a specification that began in the latter part of the 1960s the specification itself originated on the data collected from wartime use of the uh-1 huey iroquois helicopters pulling multiple duties across the war zone review of this experience brought about the need for a capable replacement system for the immediate future this design specification also coincided with the development of the new General Electric turboshaft engine series designated as they t700 u.s. army feelers went out in 1972 with both Sikorsky and boeing vertol both answering the call the Sikorsky design was chosen ahead of boeing vertol the yeh 61 Alfre attempt and the sikorsky whyyou 860 alpha prototype which achieved first flight on november 29 1974 the production contract was handed to Sikorsky in late 1976 with first deliveries of the Blackhawk system beginning two years later the Blackhawk was officially introduced into service in the middle of 1979 with the US Army 101st airborne division replacing the vulnerable uh-1 huey x' black hawks have a distinct look about them making them highly recognizable even when compared to her contemporaries the forward portion of the fuselage contains CD positions for the pilot and co-pilot collectively known as the flight crew with windowed panels above forward below and to the sides each crew position has afforded an entry exit door directly behind the cockpit though is the cabin allows the seating of some 11 personnel depending on the specific variant or version that has been given it also has entry exit doors made by two double windowed sliding doors along the side of the aircraft the General Electric series turboshaft engines sit atop either side of the middle fuselage with a four-blade main rotor extending up between them the undercarriage is completely fixed and features two main landing gears forward and a single tail wheel fitted on the fuselage area between the cabin and the extreme edge of the tail Blackhawks have participated in pretty much all frontline conflicts spanning from Grenada to Afghanistan they are even used in search and rescue helicopters in both commercial and military settings conventional versions of the uh-60 blackhawk can transfer up to 11 troops or carry 2,600 pounds of cargo internally when equipped with a load sling the uh-60 can lift and transport up to 9,000 pounds from the ground initial requirements for the uh-60 Blackhawk aircraft including modular design for easier repairs high lifecycle and paths with your replacements a true transport and medical evacuation capability it is since gone on to serve a number of different capacities though including humanitarian aid and special operations insertion and extraction a highly modified version of the uh-60 was even used in the acclaimed raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011 the surviving tail rudder of the mh-60s indicated specialized stealth technology was used in its construction and electronic warfare modules were added to help evade pakistani radar contact several versions of the uh-60 blackhawk are available for export from the united states foreign buyers are able to purchase specially designed versions for everything from commercial to the use of counter insurgency or coin operations to esss or external stall support systems can be equipped with air-to-surface missiles electronic warfare pods or even extra fuel storage when configured for extra fuel the uh-60 blackhawk can fly up to 1381 miles before even needing to refuel some models even have a refueling nozzle to allow it to have an in-flight refueling because this medium lift helicopter has been in service since 1979 it has undergone some really big upgrades beginning in 1980 six the improved uh-60 L includes a hover IR suppression system or hers meant to mask or reduce the amount of heat kicking out of the engine in December 2007 the United States Army ordered a new low-rate initial production or L rip upgrade to turn the uh-60 LS into the uh-60m s in total Sikorsky under the contractor delivered 950 uh-60m aircraft are to be delivered by 2025 this newest design feature is even more robust with more efficient rotors and better infrared suppression the infrared suppression is important for evading detection of surface-to-air missiles the crew of the uh-60 general consists of the two pilots a crew chief and door Gunners the door gunner and the crew chief may be positioned on either side of the uh-60 and may be equipped with anything ranging from the m24 TG to an advanced General Electric m134 7.62 millimeter six barrel minigun depending upon the mission requirements of course the cargo bay of the uh-60 may be equipped to carry up to the 11 combat troops fully configured in their infantry setup or can be reconfigured to carry advanced electronic warfare equipment or even medical litters basically stretches with a reinforced bottom to help deflect anti-aircraft fire and titanium cord rotors to protect against flak and ground fire the uh-60 is an ideal helicopter to move troops in and out of highly contested areas few helicopters are built to enjoy every possible situation that may arise however the uh-60 is definitely one of these boasting a massive variety of features on the uh-60 base variant alone let alone the vast array of variants that are created for Special Operations peer transport electronic warfare or many other duties boasting an aerodynamic design overall and high top speed the uh-60 has an amazing survivability rate the aircraft is able to deter most modern threats today and even survive direct hits from ground fire the uh-60 really does remain one of the backbones of US army aviation squadrons and can often be seen in photographs flying in tight formations everywhere from Iraq to Afghanistan and beyond even the multiple variants of the blackhawk are widely renowned for their efficiency despite being modified from a utilitarian design there is also the s-70 Alpha Black Hawk helicopter which is flown by a crew of three the pile the copilot and the deck crew of one in the back of the cabin the s-70 our helicopter is equipped with a glass cockpit and digital avionics in addition s-70 customers may select a digital automated flight computer system or a FCS to simply give the workload to the pilot less and less an electronic flight information system provides primary pilotage and navigation displays for aircrew the s70 alpha also has some interesting weapons it's qualified as a launch platform for the laser-guided hellfire anti-armor missile the Black Hawk can also carry 16 hellfire missiles using external store supplies and as a capacity of carrying 10,000 pounds worth of missiles rockets cannons electronic countermeasure pods or whatever else you want to accommodate on the side of it the SMT can also carry two 50 caliber machine guns in the windows or parallel to the aircraft to fire at the ground the US Army Black Hawks are normally fitted with the good rig a nav R to be laser threat warning systems but of course all good things do come to an end and as many of you who are watching this video probably aware the uh-60 is going to be replaced soon the US Army has picked two winners which will face off to replace the uh-60 Black Hawk medium transport helicopter the Sikorsky Boeing sp1 defiant will square off against the Bell Textron v2 ad valor in the future long-range assault aircraft program the winner will enter the US Army service with the first units equipped with the aircraft in 2030 the blackhawk helicopter truly has been a proven reliable aircraft for almost 40 years and the design has been maxed out though the army wants faster longer range replacements and the service made clear that it had to have the achievement of being fast revolutionary and very good a vertical lift the two competing aircraft reflect the Army's desire for new technology it's a sad thing to hear knowing that such a legacy helicopter is going to be taken out of service but I can safely say that no matter what replaces it it will probably still stay in service for many many years to come elsewhere around the world when we look at this helicopter I always think of the US military you know I know it's used around the world but it is a staple workhorse of the US Army for sure of course you know the Navy also use it in its own configuration and cross with you know other cause of the military around the world and I really do think it's just such an amazing piece of equipment the fact that it could be so modular updated and upgraded to meet just about any challenge that whatever military is using it puts it up against is really really impressive I've never flew on a Blackhawk before I would love to I've been on the Chinook I've been on the Lynx I've been on a gazelle but not a Black Hawk but as I did say before this is a massive shout out in this video is dedicated to those who have supported operated flew these aircraft really though it does mean a lot to me knowing that you guys serve across these aircraft because they have done such amazing things around the world saving lives by protecting those who need it medevac and cause a vacuum out those who are in you know danger whether it be military members or civilian casualties so thank you to everyone who has served on these aircraft if you want to be notified of any upcoming channel content please make sure you click that little bell by the subscribe button on youtube so you can be notified of when my new videos do come out also thank you to everyone who's been clicking on the link for patreon in my description box below and supporting me on that page your donations are much appreciated truly they are my computer is not slowly on its last legs so I'm starting put a plan in place to replacing potentially some components on there because I've had this thing since 2013 it's starting hit it's it's a limit it's just like maybe the Black Hawk such a great piece of a kit but it doesn't need some upgrades as you can see this aircraft is being tinkered with all sorts of modifications and modules and this is actually one of the most modified Black Hawks that you're looking at right now it's absolutely covered in gizmos and bits it's impressive to see what they've done to these things anyway I digress thank you again everyone for stopping by on today's video if I did make any mistakes you can correct them in the comments section below also let me know how you felt about the video in the comment section below and I'll catch you on the next one all the best everyone [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Matsimus

Views: 82,194

Rating: 4.9236131 out of 5

Keywords: UH-60, Black Hawk, UH-60 Black Hawk, Sikorsky, helicopter, Aircraft, Sikorsky Aircraft, blackhawk, black hawk helicopter, matsimus, United States Army, Pave Hawk, Seahawk, Jayhawk, S-70, UH-60M, M134 minigun, MEDEVAC

Id: XvntDnsjXrQ

Length: 14min 22sec (862 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 19 2020