U.S. Army plans to keep UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters flying beyond 2050.

On December 19, 2025, the U.S. Army issued a Request for Information seeking industry approaches to sustain and modernize the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter beyond 2050.

On December 19, 2025, the U.S. Army issued a Request for Information (RFI) to keep the UH-60M Black Hawk in frontline service well beyond 2050, asking U.S. industry to explain how this objective can be achieved in practical terms over several decades. This long horizon, which represents more than 44 years of service after the first UH-60M helicopter entered the fleet in 2006, requires a new sustainment model that can absorb aging effects without eroding readiness, with the Army stressing the need for predictable capacity, long-term affordability, and the ability to deliver helicopters back to units at a steady pace.
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This RFI could involve about 12 to 24 Black Hawk helicopters per year and per company, with the possibility of adding HH-60M units and incorporating foreign partner channels such as FMS (Foreign Military Sales) and BEST. (Picture source: U.S. DoD)

In its outreach to companies, the U.S. Army focuses on what it wants industry to be capable of delivering over time rather than prescribing a fixed solution. It asks for approaches that can combine modernization and sustainment in a repeatable way, manage cost and schedule risk across multiple years, and scale to meet steady demand without creating bottlenecks. The Army makes clear that companies are expected to demonstrate not only technical competence, but also the ability to expand repair and overhaul throughput, maintain consistent quality, and support a fleet that will remain large and heavily used.

The concept is explicitly expandable because the Army notes that other U.S. military services, U.S. government agencies, and foreign partners operating UH-60 variants could eventually be included, which would further increase volume expectations and place additional emphasis on industrial resilience. The expectations outlined also point to how the Army views modernization as an ongoing process rather than a one-time reset. It highlights autonomy, artificial intelligence, and launched effects as areas it wants integrated into the fleet to support continuous transformation of Army Aviation formations, while emphasizing that these additions must not undermine availability or maintainability.

Companies are therefore expected to explain how new capabilities can be introduced alongside sustainment activities, and how the balance between upgrades and basic aircraft health can be preserved over decades. The Army links this directly to readiness outcomes, arguing that modernization only has value if aircraft remain repairable, parts flow remains stable, and induction and return timelines are predictable enough to support operational planning. Sustainment expectations are specific, including components such as the engine, main transmission, main rotor blades, swashplate, primary servo assembly, rotary wing spindle head, hydraulic pump, fixed landing gear, engine power unit, and propulsion shaft.

Concerning the airframe, which is built around a four-blade main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor, the approach centers on disassembly and detailed inspection to identify and correct damage, corrosion, and fatigue accumulated through years of service. This is followed by corrosion prevention measures, repainting, and alignment checks, with structured inspections spanning the cockpit area through the tail rotor pylon and main rotor pylon sections. The sequence then moves through reassembly and a defined return-to-service process that includes power-on checks, Maintenance Operational Checks, Acceptance Test Procedures, ground runs, and maintenance flight tests supported by quality control staff and maintenance test pilots. The induction and return flow also includes aircraft and records review, defueling, weight and balance capture at induction and prior to delivery, depopulation, washing, paint removal, and measurement-driven alignment verification, as well as structural repairs and replacement of Black Hawk elements such as the 10.65 LBL beam and fuselage station frames 320 and 379.

Introduced into production in 2006 to replace earlier UH-60A and UH-60L helicopters, the UH-60M Black Hawk remains the central utility helicopter across U.S. Army aviation units, and the broader Black Hawk family has accumulated more than 15 million flight hours, highlighting the critical importance of this new RFI. The UH-60M retains the UH-60's four-blade main rotor and canted tail rotor configuration but incorporates structural refinements intended to manage fatigue, corrosion, and long-term wear associated with intensive operational use. Transportable by C-130 transport aircraft, the Black Hawk has been employed since 1974 for combat operations, domestic support missions, disaster response, and overseas deployments.

Powered by a pair of General Electric T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines, each rated at approximately 2,000 shp, the UH-60M Black Hawk can transport up to 11 fully equipped troops, carry roughly 1,200 kg of internal cargo, or lift external loads of up to about 4,100 kg using a sling system, depending on the mission. Wide-chord composite rotor blades contribute to improved aerodynamic efficiency and handling, while the airframe incorporates crashworthy seating, energy-absorbing landing gear, and redundant systems intended to maintain controllability after damage. An integrated health management system continuously monitors key components such as engines, transmissions, and rotor systems, supporting condition-based maintenance and reducing unscheduled downtime. These features collectively allow the UH-60M to sustain high sortie rates across varied terrain, altitude, and climate conditions while maintaining a consistent performance.

Standard defensive fits include door-mounted 7.62 mm machine guns such as the M240 or M134, but the helicopter can also be equipped with external hardpoints that allow the carriage of auxiliary fuel tanks to extend range and endurance, or more offensive payloads such as 70 mm rockets, air-to-ground or air-to-air missiles, gun pods, and even the M136 Volcano mine-laying system. In service, the UH-60M Black Hawk is operated by a broad group of countries, including Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.