18 March 2022

AceHawk Aerospace to offer Black Hawks for UK NMH requirement

by Gareth Jennings

Teesside International Airport-based AceHawk Aerospace is to offer the UK an ML-70 variant of the Black Hawk, which it describes as being a UK-version of the AceDeck VL-60 previously developed by Ace Aeronautics in the US. (Lockheed Martin)

AceHawk Aerospace has announced that it is to offer pre-owned and upgraded Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawks for the UK's New Medium Helicopter (NMH) requirement.

The Teesside International Airport-based outfit announced its intent on 16 March, saying that it is to offer an ML-70 variant of the Black Hawk, which it describes as being a UK-version of the AceDeck VL-60 developed in the US by Ace Aeronautics.

“The UK can afford the ‘Black Hawk' through the ML-70 route,” AceHawk Aerospace said in a statement posted on its website. “We have spent the last year stress-testing the ML-70 project to determine deliverability [and] have demonstrated a clear pathway to UK service for a design that has achieved over 15 million flight hours (two million combat flight hours), and is still being developed for future roles with support to 2070.”

Under its NMH requirement, the UK is looking to acquire between 36 and 44 helicopters to replace the Airbus Helicopters Puma HC2, Bell 212, Bell 412, and Dauphin rotorcraft from 2024. The requirement is valued at GBP1 billion (USD1.32 billion) over five years, running from 2 October 2023 to 2 October 2028.

In declaring for the NMH requirement, AceHawk Aerospace joins Airbus Helicopters, which is bidding the H175M; Bell with its 525 Relentless; Leonardo with its AW149; and Lockheed Martin with its S-70M Black Hawk. Boeing has not yet confirmed its potential MH-139 Grey Wolf offering.

AceHawk Aerospace has announced that it is to offer pre-owned and upgraded Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawks...

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