Hmmm...The UH-60 Black Hawk was not included in any aid shipments, and the US officials did not mention it being supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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The Black Hawk has a track record of supporting special operations forces, perhaps best known for its involvement with the US Army Special Operations Command. Black Hawks have performed numerous missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There have been no previous reports about any transfers of Black Hawk series helicopters to Ukraine, or plans to do so...As the most widely used Western military helicopter in its class, there are plentiful S-70/Black Hawk airframes available from both military stocks as well as from third-party suppliers like Ace Aeronautics. Support for the type exists globally, including extensively in Europe.
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Black Hawks Spotted In Ukraine! How Did Kyiv Get US Army's 'Super Lethal' UH-60 ‘Stealth Choppers’?
Ukraine’s intelligence service released an image to show the country’s first US-made UH-60 Black Hawk chopper.
The images, published on February 21, show that the helicopter is now being used by the aviation branch of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence directorate. The unit has spearheaded numerous risky operations in the ongoing conflict with Russia, such as cross-border helicopter raids.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine posted two images of the helicopter in a hangar on its website. In one image, a two-person, armed helicopter crew is shown posing in front of the plane.
The Black Hawk is next to a Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind in a different head-on view. This image also shows another two-person crew and a four-person squad of what appears to be special operations forces.
“Combat helicopters significantly increase the capabilities of special units of the Defense Intelligence directorate and the effectiveness of special operations,” the accompanying text reads.
In the images, the Black Hawk can be seen adorned in a gloss black scheme with broad blue and silver cheatlines that wrap around the bottom portion of the fuselage and up and over the engine housing.
The
helicopter also has national flags and Ukrainian roundels painted on
it. A video that claims to show Ukraine’s new Black Hawk helicopter in
flight has also surfaced online, albeit its origin is still unknown. . ." READ MORE
Posted: 23 hours ago
Posted: 23 hours ago
Former US Army Black Hawk suddenly appears in Ukraine
Of all the rotorcraft that have been donated from Western allies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as it continues to bare the brunt of invading Russian forces, it seems that the first US-built helicopter to be seen involved in the conflict – a Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk – has unexpectedly appeared in the service of the secretive Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
This revelation came on February 21, when Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence published two images of a single Black Hawk-series utility helicopter sat inside a hangar at an undisclosed location in the war-torn country. The first image appears to show two armed crew members posing next to the aircraft, while the second shows the Black Hawk alongside a Ukrainian Army Aviation (UkrAA)-operated Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, with two armed crew members and special operations troops posing in front of the two rotorcraft.
While no official transfer of Black Hawk helicopters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been publicly sanctioned by the US government, it appears that this aircraft is likely to be former US Army-operated UH-60A (serial 80-23455), which was withdrawn from operational use in the mid-2010s and sold to US-based avionic and airframe solutions provider, Ace Aeronautics, before it was re-registered as N60FW and nicknamed ‘Blue’ in November 2015.
This identification comes courtesy of the baseline colour scheme worn by the Black Hawk – aside from the Ukrainian flag and roundel – which matches the livery worn by N60FW perfectly. It features a distinctively glossy, black base livery with dark blue and silver cheatlines that encompass the lower section of the aircraft’s fuselage. No identifiable Ukrainian or US serial number or registration can be seen in the images provided by the Main Directorate of Intelligence.
Headquartered in Guntersville, Alabama, Ace Aeronautics provides avionics and airframe upgrades for a range of platforms, including the vast Black Hawk family of multi-mission utility helicopters. The firm also provides a range of experimental flight test; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and training services. Alongside N60FW, the company operates two other UH-60As – registration N60HD (former US Army serial 85-24411) and N60RN (former US Army serial 81-23559). It remains unclear whether these aircraft are destined to also be transferred to Ukraine.
On the evening of February 21, a video – which appears to show the Black Hawk flying at low-altitude over an undisclosed location in Ukraine was shared on social media:
Ukrainian UH-60 helicopter flight in Ukraine, February. pic.twitter.com/39abE4M3sJ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 21, 2023
While Ukraine has received a number of rotorcraft from its Western allies since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022 – ranging from Czech Air Force-operated Mi-24/35 Hinds to ex-Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Westland Sea Kings – the majority of manned aircraft donated to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to date have been surplus aircraft of Russian origin, such as Mi-8/17 Hips. This means that the Black Hawk operational with the Main Directorate of Intelligence is the first confirmed US-built manned aircraft to be dispatched to Ukraine to support its armed forces in their conflict against Russia. While the US has given Ukraine aircraft during the conflict, these were largely sourced from the stocks of ex-Afghan Air Force Hips that were acquired as a resurgent Taliban took back control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
UH-60 Black Hawk Unexpectedly Appears In Ukrainian Military Service
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces have received what appears to be their first example of the ubiquitous S-70/H-60 Black Hawk series helicopter. It looks to now be in service with the aviation branch of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence directorate, which has led a number of daring missions in the course of the ongoing war with Russia, including cross-border helicopter raids. The Black Hawk design is more modern than many previous helicopter donations to Ukraine and could also pave the way for future deliveries.
The newly identified Black Hawk and a Mi-24, plus Main Directorate of Intelligence soldiers, in a hangar somewhere in Ukraine.
(Main
Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)
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A machine translation of the accompanying text reads as follows: “The Defense Intelligence aviation of Ukraine continues to work at the forefront of the defense of our country. Reconnaissance pilots have just returned from another combat mission, the combat helicopters significantly increase the capabilities of the special units of the Main Directorate of Intelligence and the effectiveness of special operations. Pilots of the [Main Directorate of Intelligence] continue to destroy the enemy on all areas of the front.”
✓ While not explicit on this point, the wording suggests that the Black Hawk and Mi-24 are new additions to the directorate’s regular fleet. In the past, it’s understood to have used Ukrainian Army Aviation helicopters (primarily Soviet and Russian-made Mi-8 and Mi-17 Hips) on an ad-hoc basis. Having organic aviation assets is clearly a major advantage, if only in terms of the availability of aircraft for its demanding missions.
A Ukrainian Mi-8 Hip, with rear clamshell doors removed, like the ones flown in previous Main Directorate of Intelligence missions. Ukraine MoD
The Black Hawk shown is painted in a distinctive gloss black scheme with broad blue and silver cheatlines that extend around the lower part of the fuselage, as well as up and over the engine housing. Prominent Ukrainian roundels and national flags are also applied.
✓ Overall, the scheme appears to be similar if not identical to one seen previously on a UH-60A operated in the past by Ace Aeronautics, LLC, a U.S. company headquartered in Guntersville, Alabama. Ace Aeronautics offers a range of services, primarily based around avionics upgrades, including for the S-70/H-60 family, but also including experimental flight test, training, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).
One Ace Aeronautics UH-60A in particular, which appears on the company website, and in the video below, appears to prove an almost exact match with the example In Ukraine. In the past, it was operated with the U.S. civil registration number N60FW, which the Federal Aviation Administration says is still active. Nicknamed “Blue,” this helicopter formerly served with the U.S. Army and had the serial number 80-23455. Among Ace Aeronautics’ services is purchasing UH-60As from the U.S. Army and offering them for sale after they have been repainted and reworked to meet customer specifications.
A background search on N60FW suggests that it was offered for sale until around 11 months ago when its listing was removed. Its last available recorded flight was over Georgia, last November 28, at which point it was still listed as being owned by Ace Aeronautics. While the paint scheme of the Ukrainian helicopter clearly resembles that of N60FW, it remains possible, of course, that this is a different airframe painted in the same livery, perhaps also by Ace Aeronautics, which offers bespoke respray services. Moreover, similar civilian-style paint schemes for Black Hawks are not entirely uncommon.
✓ Other UH-60As that Ace Aeronautics has acquired in the past include one with a red cheatline instead of a blue one and an all-black one with the registrations N60DK and N451VK, respectively.
Ace Aeronautics UH-60As N60FW and N60DK fly together. Ace Aeronautics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE8EsSCkuHw
As far as we can make out from the two available photos, the UH-60A now operated by Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence does not feature any obvious mission modifica fttions, such as electro-optical sensors, weaponry, or self-protection systems. On the other hand, the nature of the platform makes it an ideal fit, were any such additions to be made in the future. Indeed, in the past, Ace Aeronautics used N60FW as a testbed for a possible weaponized configuration that included a stub pylon on one side of the fuselage fitted with an externally-mounted Minigun system and two mock Hellfire air-to-ground missiles.
A screencap from a promotional video showing N60FW with a mocked-up weapons installation. Ace Aeronautics
✓ If the Black Hawk that the Ukrainian Armed Forces has received is indeed N60FW or one of its cousins, it would then likely come along with a number of internal improvements over the original UH-60A design. This would likely include a Garmin G5000H cockpit, previously seen installed on N60FW. This is a full glass cockpit with touchscreen controls that is much more advanced than the analog instruments found in Ukraine’s Mi-8 and Mi-24.
A computer rendering of the G5000H cockpit installed in an S-70/UH-60 series helicopter. Garmin
One item that is certainly now missing, compared with previous configurations of N60FW, is the sensor turret that was fitted below the nose, as recently as last year. However, the nature of this turret mounting, which was developed by Ace Aeronautics, means that it should be easy enough to install a sensor turret in the future, and it’s compatible with turrets from different avionics providers, including L3Harris WESCAM and FLIR Systems.
We have reached out to both Ace Aeronautics, as well as to Ukrainian sources, for m ftore details of this apparent helicopter transfer, as well as how it might be supporting Defense Intelligence directorate missions more generally. There have been no previous reports about any transfers of Black Hawk series helicopters to Ukraine, or plans to do so.
We have, in the past, reported extensively upon the work of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence directorate, including its Shaman Battalion of special operations troops that infiltrate into Russian territory to strike key targets.
“What is really important is that we have great helicopter pilots,” one of the Shaman Battalion told The War Zone, in an interview published in July last year. “They’re the guys who have very precise, very outwritten plans that consider all necessary details. They’re super pilots. They’re strong, intelligent, and very highly motivated.”
Ukraine Mi-8 helicopters at low level. Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The unit assignments of these helicopter pilots are not entirely clear. In the past, they likely have consisted of Ukrainian Army Aviation crews with relevant training for special forces missions, although with at least one each of the Black Hawk and Mi-24 now seemingly part of the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence, it very likely has its own aircrews, as well, perhaps having been transferred from the army.
We have also reported on one particular Main Directorate of Intelligence mission, involving as many as 16 Mi-8 helicopters, used to resupply the defenders of the Azovstal steel plant. In the face of dense Russian air defenses and enemy aircraft, two of those helicopters were destroyed, Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the directorate, told The War Zone in an exclusive series of interviews, which you can find here and here.
It’s clear that the directorate makes significant use of helicopters, and the nature of its missions means that modern and reliable equipment is of paramount importance.
The Black Hawk is already a proven special forces support platform, most famously through its work with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Of course, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), also known as the “Nightstalkers,” flies much more heavily modified MH-60M Black Hawks, among other types of helicopters.
Whether Ukraine's apparent new UH-60A, whatever its configuration might be, remains a one-off, or if other examples are already in Ukraine, is unclear for now. The delivery of even one Black Hawk is still a significant development for Ukraine’s military aviation capabilities. While around 40 helicopters have previously been supplied as military aid by Kyiv’s allies, up until now, these have been almost all Soviet-era aircraft, primarily Mi-8/17 and Mi-24 types, rather than more modern Western types. So far, the only other Western military helicopter donations have comprised a handful of former U.K. Royal Navy Sea Kings for the Ukrainian Navy.
With Ukraine keen to adopt more Western and NATO-standard equipment across its armed forces, the Black Hawk is an obvious choice for the modernization of its rotary-wing fleets. As the most widely used Western military helicopter in its class, there are plentiful S-70/Black Hawk airframes available from both military stocks as well as from third-party suppliers like Ace Aeronautics. Support for the type exists globally, including extensively in Europe.
With that in mind, the single uniquely painted UH-60A now residing in a hangar somewhere in Ukraine could well be the start of a more extensive effort to bolster the country’s rotary capabilities and kickstart the process of slowly replacing the current mainly Soviet-era fleet. At the very least, it indicates that the Black Hawk will become a primary mount for Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence directorate."
Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
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