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HH60
Blackhawk
The standard UH-60 comes
in many variants, and many different modifications.
The standard US Army version is now fitted
with wings that allow it to carry up to four
external fuel tanks for extended range operations.The
HH-60G Pave Hawk is a highly modified version
of the Black Hawk primarily designed to recover
downed aircrew or other isolated personnel
during war. Some versions, such as the Air
Force MH-60G Pave Hawk and the United States
Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk, are equipped with
a rescue hoist with a 200 ft (60.96 m) cable
that has a 600 lb (270 kg) lift capability,
and a retractable in-flight refueling probe.
The Black Hawk was developed
to meet a US Army requirement for a UH-1 Iroquois
replacement in 1972. Three prototypes were
constructed, the first (YUH-60) flying in
October 1974, and evaluated against a rival
(YUH-61) Boeing-Vertol design. The Black Hawk
was selected for production and the UH-60A
entered service with the US Army in 1979.
In the late 1980s the model was upgraded to
the UH-60L (First production aircraft 89-26179)
which featured more power and lift with the
upgrade to the -701C model of the GE engines.
A newer model being engineered (UH-60M), which
will extend the service life of both UH-60A's
and UH-60L's well into the 2020s, features
still more power and lift and state of the
art electronic instrumentation, flight controls
and aircraft navigation control.
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