UH-60M [UH-60L+]
The UH-60M is designed to replace the UH-60A and is the centerpiece of the long-term effort to modernize the service's medium-lift helicopter fleet. Sikorsky Aircraft has manufactured the Army BLACK HAWK since 1978. The UH-60M provides additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, improved survivability, and improved producibility using high speed machined parts.
The UH-60M's new composite spar wide-chord blade will provide 227 kg (500 lb) more lift than the current UH-60L blade. The new General Electric T700-GE-701D engine will add more shaft horsepower, and allow additional lift during external lift (sling load) operations.
The new cockpit includes multi-function displays; flight management systems; modern flight control computers with fully coupled autopilot; an integrated vehicle health management system with flight data and cockpit voice recorder; inertial navigation systems with embedded global positioning systems; improved data modem; and improved heads-up displays. The narrower cockpit instrument panel will also significantly improve chin window visibility.
The UH-60M program is funded through FY 2010 and will encompass the transformation or recapitalization of UH-60A-to-UH-60A or M. The modification will include upgrades to the airframe, propulsion and drive train, digital cockpit and provide a crashworthy external fuel system, which incorporates a submerged boost pump verses the positive air pressure system currently in use. The new, rebuilt Black Hawk, designated the UH-60M, will use the older L model's T-701C engines, gear box, windshield, heating system, and crashworthy seats, but it also include many new features such as a digital cockpit with multifunctional displays, digital flight controls, global positioning, active vibration suppression, upgraded troop seats, improved infrared suppression, jamming and warning systems, and a revised fuel tank.
In 1978 the first UH-60A Black Hawk rolled off of the production line at Sikorsky Aircraft Company, and the Army had its first new utility helicopter since the UH-1 Huey was introduced in 1959. The Army originally planned to build a new aviation system every 20 years because that's about how long it can safely expect an aircraft to last the rigors of training and battle. Now, however, the Army plans to retire all Hueys by the end of FY '04, but there is no new utility helicopter in the works to replace the Black Hawk. So what's an Army to do if it intends to have utility aviation support in the Objective Force of 2020? The answer is recapitalize the Black Hawk: strip it down to its airframe, rebuild it with all new equipment and give it at least 20 more years of life.
The UH-60M is the upgrade of the UH-60A- focusing on increased range and lift capability, advanced Avionics (digital communications and navigation suites), enhanced aircraft survivability equipment (ASE), increased reliability and maintainability (R & M), airframe service life extension (SLEP), and reduced operations and support (O&S) costs, improved handling characteristics and commonality for a variety of missions.
The March 2001 Operational Requirements Document establishes a block approach to development and modernization. The Army intends the Block 1 aircraft to provide the entire UH-60 fleet with a digital cockpit, extended service life, and performance and reliability levels equivalent to the UH-60L. The Army plans for the UH-60M digital cockpit to feature a four multi-function display design to improve pilot situational awareness and enhance capabilities to communicate and operate on the digital battlefield. The Army intends for the long term Block 2 aircraft requirements to leverage new engine technologies that have potential to dramatically increase range and lift capability. Block 2 aircraft survivability is to be further enhanced by two systems in development now: the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures and the Suite of Integrated Infrared Countermeasures. The Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Technology waived the requirement for full-up system level LFT&E based on an alternative plan approved by DOT&E.
Block 1 aircraft may commonly be referred to as the UH-60L+. The UH-60L+ cockpit will incorporate Force XXI digital battlefield capability. All nav/com avionics and selected flight instruments will be replaced with Multifunctional Display (MFD). Block 2 aircraft may commonly be referred to as the UH-60(X) until formal designation is received. Today's Army has 906 UH-60As and about 500 UH-60Ls. The main differences between the two models is that the UH-60L has T-701C engines with more horsepower than the A model's T-700 engines, and the L model also has an improved durability gear box.
In March 2001 the Army received the go-ahead from the Defense Acquisition Board to upgrade its aging fleet of 1,500 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. In May 2001 AMCOM awarded a $220 million contract to Sikorsky to produce four prototype UH-60Ms. Under this contract, Sikorsky will convert a UH-60A into a UH-60M, a UH-60L into an M model, a UH-60A (medical evacuation) into an M model, and build a new production M model from scratch.
The Army then plans to enter low-rate initial production of the UH-60M in FY '04, with initialy plans calling for an eventual increase production around FY '07 to about 70 aircraft per year until 2024. Of those 70 aircraft per year, about 60 would be recapitalized Black Hawks and about 10 would be new production models. By early 2002 plans called for the UH-60M tol enter low-rate initial production in FY04 and eventually increase production to about 90 aircraft per year until 2020. The Army plans to convert all 900-plus UH-60A models and some UH-60L models to the M configuration and build some new production M models, as well. A total of 1,217 UH-60Ms are planned. A total of 1217 UH-60A and L aircraft will be recapitalized to the UH-60M. New built UH-60M will be "cut-in" to the existing UH-60L production line in order to grow the Utility Helicopter fleet size to meet interim and objective force requirements.
The UH-60M will be built both as a retrofit to the older UH-60A and UH-60L fleet and as a new aircraft under future multi-year H-60 production contracts. The UH-60M will be fielded in the 2006/07 time frame. The improvements will establish an aircraft fleet half-life (average age) of 10 years. The upgrade program is designed to extend the operating life of the BLACK HAWK fleet for an additional 25-30 years, as the current Army Aviation Modernization Plan projects no replacement for the BLACK HAWK to enter service prior to 2025.
The UH-60M will standardize the current fleet with the UH-60L General Electric T700-GE-701C engine and the improved durability main gearbox. The UH-60M will feature wide chord composite spar main rotor blades, a digitized 1553 bus-based cockpit and avionics suite, an advanced flight control computer, a strengthened fuselage and advanced infrared suppression. The new glass cockpits and instruments that provide better situational awareness. It is expected to reduce maintenance costs by one-fourth of the current UH-60A expense. The M model will reduce operation and support costs by $500 per flight hour compared to the A model.
The modernization program of the UH-60 will enhance the Force XXI commander's ability to conduct non-linear, simultaneous, fully integrated operations in order to decisively mass the effects of the Divisions warfighting assets. As a critical Force XXI system of systems, the UH-60 will provide digital connectivity for enhanced situational awareness and improved lift, range, deployability, and survivability to further increase the commander's ability to conduct operations across the entire spectrum of the battlespace. In addition to a 25-year airframe service life extension requirement, the UH-60 program must employ technologies to increase pilot efficiency, increase mission safety and effectiveness, provide a digital communications architecture, enhance survivability, improve Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM), reduce Operational and Support (O&S) costs, and allow for future system growth. The modernized UH-60 crew station design must be compatible with future aviation life support equipment (ALSE) specifications. It is the intent that the UH-60 Black Hawk will capitalize on the current system design and all technological advances that are appropriate and compatible in terms of performance, cost, and risk.
The Army has defined a requirement to increase the payload and range of the older UH-60A fleet to carry heavier equipment acquired since the inception of the BLACK HAWK program and to meet its emerging doctrinal needs, including operating on the digital battlefield. The modernization will increase the lift and range of the UH-60A's. The UH-60M configuration provides up to a 2,000-pound payload advantage and a 15-knot speed improvement over the UH-60A.
Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD), Texas (and other sites if the work load exceeds CCAD's capabilities), will strip and prepare the helicopters for shipment to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut, for refurbishing. Low-rate initial production of the modified systems was slated to begin in 2004, followed by full production at a rate of 60 to 85 a year until the project is complete.
The upgrade has undergone much recent tesing. According to the DOT&E, until the prototype aircraft flight-testing is complete, the adequacy of the UH-60M structural design will not be validated. It is possible that unexpected fatigue, dynamic, or vibration loads could be encountered in the newly designed airframe.
Software development and integration issues remain with the processor throughput for some subsystems. The aircraft system computer resource utilization is desired to be less than 50 percent. However, three subsystems exceed the 50 percent utilization goal in the program.
The EUD2 demonstrates that pilots in the UH-60M cockpit can perform today’s air assault mission. Pilot vehicle interfaces are adequate with the exception of free text messaging procedures. The messaging procedures are not intuitive and are time-consuming, requiring the copilot to remain focused inside the cockpit for extended periods of time. With respect to workload levels, pilots report that they retain the capacity to perform all desirable additional tasks when operating in the new cockpit. Pilot situational awareness is enhanced by the navigation aids and digital map display systems.
The integrated Army/Navy LFT&E plan takes into account vulnerability reduction features that were incorporated into the Black Hawk since its initial fielding in 1978, combat damage experience, subsystem qualification efforts, computer modeling and simulation, as well as other Services’ testing. Test results show improved survivability over prior H-60 model aircraft.
In early 2005 the Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) authorized the Army's UH-60M BLACK HAWK program to proceed with Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of 22 new UH-60M's with authorization to build up to 40 new helicopters through fiscal year 2006. LRIP is the last phase in a defense procurement program before a full-rate production decision is made.
The Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) issued March 31, also authorized advanced procurement for the first lot of full rate production UH-60Ms, beginning in FY07. The decision reflects the Army's effort to lower fleet operating and support costs. To date Sikorsky had delivered three UH-60Ms and was under contract to deliver five more of the latest version BLACK HAWKs for the test program.
A full-rate production decision to authorize more than 1,200 UH-60M aircraft is scheduled for 2007. Exact procurement numbers year-to-year and across the life of the program will be determined by budget authorizations and specific contract awards.
