Case Study: Black Hawk Up

By Thomas Timlen

As the Philippines Army vintage Bell UH-1 Huey helicopters that hark back to the 1960s have aged, an increasing frequency of mishaps placed mounting pressure on the government to initiate a program to decommission and replace them with a modern and efficient replacement fleet. Pressing for the purchase of replacement aircraft, President Rodrigo Duterte described the Hueys as having “metal fatigue.”

Heeding the calls of the president and others, the Philippine government awarded the Polish company Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp.z.o.o., (PZL Mielec) the contract for 16 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters in April 2019 as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act.

In addition to the traditional military defense roles played by the Philippines’ helicopters, they have been deployed to support operations to suppress insurgency groups in the southern parts of the country, while also playing a critical role in disaster relief operations by distributing aid across thousands of islands in the aftermath of storms and typhoons and transporting injured and sick victims from remote areas to medical facilities. The new challenge involving the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines throughout the country has escalated the urgency to modernize.

At a cost of US$241 million, the 16 helicopters are being manufactured by PZL Mielec under license from Sikorsky USA. The first batch of six Black Hawk helicopters was delivered in December 2020. The second batch of five helicopters arrived on June 7, at the Philippines’ Clark Air Base in Pampanga.

Speaking at Clark Air Base in June, Philippine Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano said: “With the latest delivery, the PAF now has 11 Black Hawk utility helicopters. Meanwhile, the third batch of five helicopters is scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2021.”

“We are grateful for the trust that the Republic of the Philippines has placed in PZL Mielec and the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk aircraft for its Combat Utility Helicopter fleet,” said Janusz Zakręcki, PZL Mielec president and general director. “We were able to complete delivery on time according to the schedule as a result of the strong partnership between PZL, Sikorsky, the Philippine Department of National Defense and the Philippine Air Force.”


Mode of Movement

The deliveries in November and June were orchestrated in a way that might come as a surprise, as the Black Hawks were not transported by land and sea, but rather by air. With almost 10,000 kilometers between the PZL Mielec facilities in Poland and the Clark Air Base in Pampanga, it would not be unreasonable to assume that the helicopters would be transported by road or rail from the manufacturing site to the closest seaport in Poland for an onward ocean transport. However, except for one Black Hawk that was transported by sea, air freight provided several advantages for the rest.

Each S-70i helicopter measures 17.52 meters long, 3.2 meters wide, 3.9 meters in height, and weighs 5.6 tonnes. Each consignment of five Black Hawks weighs in at 35 tonnes when including the loading equipment. The only aircraft fit for the job was Antonov Airlines’ world-record-holding Ruslan AN-124-100, capable of transporting a payload of up to 150 tonnes and the world’s largest production transport airplane. Amnon Ehrlich, Antonov Airlines’ aerospace, government and defense programs director for North America, described to Breakbulk how collaboration facilitated the successful air transport. “Although the total payload in terms of weight was considerably light for our aircraft, loading five helicopters safely and transporting them without damage takes considerable collaboration. We have been working closely with both Sikorsky as well as their logistics supplier Helicopter International Shipping Services (HISS) for the past several months to ensure that all current and future program requirements are met.”

Representatives for Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, told Breakbulk that the company is highly satisfied with the service provided by Antonov Airlines and the freight forwarder HISS. Transport by air of the S-70i Black Hawk aircraft was planned from the beginning for both air shipments to the Philippines. Close collaboration with Antonov and HISS ensured that the 10 Black Hawks arrived at their destination in the Philippines without damage and on schedule. is scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2021.”

“We are grateful for the trust that the Republic of the Philippines has placed in PZL Mielec and the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk aircraft for its Combat Utility Helicopter fleet,” said Janusz Zakręcki, PZL Mielec president and general director. “We were able to complete delivery on time according to the schedule as a result of the strong partnership between PZL, Sikorsky, the Philippine Department of National Defense and the Philippine Air Force.”


Mode of Movement

The deliveries in November and June were orchestrated in a way that might come as a surprise, as the Black In fact, the transport went so well that shipper Sikorsky said it would have no hesitation in choosing air freight for delivery of the helicopters in the future.

Several factors led to the decision to transport the Black Hawks by air. “We achieve economies of scale when transporting five aircraft on the same flight, that is, by filling the plane versus shipping the same quantity by sea,” a Sikorsky spokesperson explained. “Each aircraft can be transported without needing to be completely wrapped, unlike in the case of a sea shipment. There is lower risk of damage compared to transporting by road and sea haulage. The speed of delivery is one to three days compared to weeks by road and sea.” Also, the spokesperson pointed out that the delivery of one helicopter by sea in the first batch was delayed and arrived two weeks after the Antonov air shipment.


Handle with Care

While Black Hawks are built for battle and therefore strengthened to protect their crew and structural integrity, appropriate handling must still be observed.

“While Black Hawk helicopters are designed to rigorous military standards, we treat any helicopter with care,” Sikorsky’s spokesperson said. “To ensure easy roll-on, roll-off onto the Antonov, we merely fold the main rotor blades while they are still attached to the rotor head. Given the size of the Antonov plane, there is no need to fold the tail pylons. Once loaded, each helicopter is securely strapped to the cabin floor.”

While freight rates are comparatively lower on ocean routes compared with air freight, cost advantages can still be gained when engaging an air carrier, the spokesperson said. “Sikorsky delivers commercial and military helicopters by airfreight when there is a business case to do so and/or when a delivery schedule requires it. On a per aircraft basis, filling the Antonov plane with five Black Hawk helicopters is less expensive than shipping the same five helicopters by sea.”

Certainly time-related advantages of moving cargo by air are attractive – and in this case they exceeded expectations: “We planned from the beginning to ship the five Black Hawk aircraft by air to the Philippines. Doing so allowed us to deliver to a more aggressive schedule. Shipping by sea would have added two months to their arrival in country, versus two days to transport by air.”

There were other factors to consider as well in the selection of mode. “Surface transport is less expensive on a per-aircraft basis. We will often transport a single helicopter by sea.” For a single helicopter, air freight will amount to about three times the cost of ocean freight. In contrast, for five helicopters, ocean freight is about 50 percent more expensive.

Similarly, the distance between the place of manufacture and the place of delivery impacts the choice of transport mode. “Not all helicopters are transported by sea or air freight. The option to ‘ferry’ one or more helicopters also exists, meaning Sikorsky and/or the customer’s pilots fly the helicopters to their destinations. S-70i Black Hawk helicopters produced at the Lockheed Martin PZL Mielec facility in Poland, and destined for another European country, would be ferried in this way,” Sikorsky explained.

Other factors that make air transport more attractive include the lower risk of damage to the Black Hawks, lower risk of tampering or sabotage during transport, and a reduced risk of damage as there is less handling of each unit in comparison with on-loading and off-loading between road, rail and sea links.


Planning the Load

Prior to loading, detailed loading and unloading plans were developed by Antonov Airlines’ in-house engineers to ensure the safe stowage and transport of the Black Hawks. Sikorsky’s spokesperson said that process needs to be started early in the project.

“Collaboration of an air shipment from Poland by Sikorsky’s Aircraft Delivery Operations team in the United States can begin 12 weeks before departure typically with one administrative point of contact at Antonov Airlines. Detailed planning with HISS of the load/unload, export paperwork and other associated logistics occurs four to six weeks ahead of departure via two to three administrative points of contacts. Personnel at PZL Mielec are also involved. Planning discussions take place via email, Skype, and phone calls.”

With the safe arrival of the second batch of helicopters, the Philippines wasted no time with their deployment. “The recent arrival of the five Black Hawks will further boost the heli-lift capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and will help the government deliver more services in more areas in less time,” said Mariano, of the Philippine Air Force. “In the past few months, the Black Hawks transported vaccines and PPE (personal protective equipment) sets to the remotest areas of Batanes, Bicol, and other parts of the country.”

The collective efforts of project cargo specialists allowed the helicopters to be put to work on schedule – in view of Mariano’s remarks, all expectations of this project were clearly met.

Thomas Timlen is a Singapore-based analyst, researcher, writer and spokesperson with 31 years of experience addressing the regulatory and operational issues that impact all sectors of the maritime industry.

PHOTOS:

Photo 1: The Polish-built Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters were loaded using the AN-124-100’s winch system. CREDIT: ANTONOV AIRLINES

Photo 2: 

Detailed loading and unloading plans were developed by Antonov Airlines’ in-house engineers to ensure the safe stowage and transport of the military cargo within the AN-124-100’s cargo cabin specifications. CREDIT: ANTONOV AIRLINES