"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)
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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