The UH-60 Black Hawk remains the Army National Guard’s go-to rotary wing aviation asset to respond to state emergency missions and to support overseas contingency operations. While Black Hawks from the Army National Guard are currently supporting missions overseas, Army National Guard Black Hawks have also been activated for general aviation support to state emergencies including floods, wildfires and other domestic needs.
However, more than a decade of high operational tempo has taken a toll on the Army National Guard Black Hawk fleet. Currently, the Army National Guard operates 849 Black Hawks, with approximately 350 of these aircraft being the older UH-60A models with an average age exceeding 25 years. In order for the Army National Guard Black Hawk fleet to remain viable and mission capable, these older UH-60As need to be modernized or replaced as quickly as possible. It is projected that the Army National Guard will not retire its last UH-60A until 2025, while the active component will retire its last UH-60A in 2018.
Increased congressional funding will accelerate the fielding of new UH-60M helicopters to the Army National Guard to close the gap and ensure the Black Hawk helicopter fleet is capable of meeting the requirements of domestic and overseas missions.
LANGEA Point of Contact:
Trent Taylor
legislative@langea.org
