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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

UH-60 BLACKHAWK

Army ACAT IC Program:		Prime Contractor
Total Number of Systems: UH-60A: UH-60L:	1597 980 617	Sikorsky Aircraft General Electric
Total Program Cost (60L) (TY$):	$4.5B
Average Unit Cost (60L) (TY$):	$7.29M
Full-rate production:		Service Certified Y2K Compliant
UH-60A: UH-60L:	4QFY82 2QFY88	No

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a single rotor medium-lift helicopter powered by twin General Electric T700-GE-701C turboshaft engines rated at 1,700 Shaft Horse Power each. The Black Hawk helicopter provides utility and assault lift capability across a wide range of missions. The Black Hawk is the primary helicopter for air assault, general support, and aeromedical evacuation units. In addition, modified Black Hawks operate as command and control, electronic warfare, and special operations platforms. Since 1989, Sikorsky has been producing the UH-60L version that provides 24 percent more power than the original 1970 UH-60A model. The lift capacity of this versatile system has a significant dominant maneuver as well as focused logistics application.

The Army began fielding the UH-60 in 1978. From 1978-1989, the Army procured UH-60A model aircraft. In October 1989, a power train upgrade resulted in a model designation change from UH-60A to UH-60L. As of the end of FY98, the Army had procured 607 UH-60L models for a total UH-60 acquisition of 1268 aircraft.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is in the latter stages of production and a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) is planned for the UH-60 beginning in FY99.

The Black Hawk was determined to be a LFT&E program in FY98. The program is being reviewed by DOT&E to determine LFT&E requirements.

A dialogue between the Army and DOT&E concerning the magnitude and scope of the UH-60 SLEP began in 1998. Recent DOT&E experiences with programs with similar objectives (the Army's Improved Cargo Helicopter program) show that significant benefits will be gained by a program that addresses key T&E issues early in the acquisition process. Issues of interest include retention of current operational capabilities, improved reliability and maintainability, reduced operating and support costs, an integrated cockpit, and a digital architecture for Force XXI compatibility.

From a T&E perspective, this program has the opportunity to leverage the T&E community's experience in similar type programs by involving them early in the ORD development stage. The importance of crafting operational requirements for the SLEP program in a manner that can be tested have been discussed. This approach, if adopted, has the potential to streamline the process considerably.