THE Philippine Air Force has completed the acceptance of 16 government-procured brand new S-70i Black Hawk helicopters.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, together with National Security Advisor Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Andres Centino, and other military officials, held the formal acceptance, turnover and blessing of five more S-70i Black Hawk helicopters at the Haribon Hangar, Clark Air Base, Mabalacat City, Pampanga on December 3, 2021, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Sunday, December 5.

The 16 Sikorsky S70-i Blackhawk helicopters were procured from Polish company Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp.z.o.o.

The first batch, which includes six units, was delivered in November 2020, while the second batch, which consists of five helicopters, arrived in June 2021.

The last batch of delivery arrived on November 8, 2021.

In June, one of the Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Capas, Tarlac due to bad weather.

Six military personnel were killed in the incident.

The military said the helicopters were also being used in transporting coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in hard-to-reach areas in the country.

“These aircraft were also currently deployed to strategic locations in support of the accomplishment of the overall AFP mission,” the AFP said. (SunStar Philippines)