Antonov Airlines transports five Black Hawk helicopters on short notice

Antonov Airlines has safely transported five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters on a single AN-124-100 flight from Rzeszów, Poland, to Angeles, the Philippines.

The cargo weighed 35 tonnes in total, including loading equipment, and is the second delivery of the Polish-built S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippines.

The loading procedure was completed using the AN-124-100’s winches.

Each S-70i helicopter measured 1.75 m long, 3.2 m wide, 3.9 m in height, and weighed 5.6 tons.

Detailed loading and unloading plans were developed by Antonov Airlines’ in-house engineers to ensure the safe stowage and transport of the military cargo within the AN-124-100’s cargo cabin specifications.

“Although the total payload in terms of weight was quite light for our aircraft – loading five helicopters safely and transporting them without damage takes considerable collaboration. We have been working closely with Sikorsky as well as their logistics supplier Helicopter International Shipping Services (HISS) for several months to ensure that all current and future program requirements are met,” said Amnon Ehrlich, Director North America – Aerospace, Government, and Defence Programs.

The first transport under the agreement was completed in November 2020 and was also for five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, which were delivered to Clark Air Base, north of the Philippine capital, Manila.

Antonov Airlines operates seven AN-124-100 including two AN-124-100M-150 with up to 150 tonnes payload, the largest turboprop-powered aircraft AN-22 (60-tonne payload), as well as the 250-tonne payload AN-225 “Mriya”, the largest cargo aircraft in the world.