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

The cargo weighed 35 tonnes in total, including loading equipment, and the loading procedure, which took a total of 5 hours, 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 tonnes. Antonov said detailed loading and unloading plans were developed by its in-house engineers to ensure the safe stowage and transport of the military cargo within the freighter’s cargo cabin specifications.

Also read: ‘Open skies’: Antonov moves car parts from Asia to US

“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,” said Amnon Ehrlich, Director North America – aerospace, government, and defence programs.

“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,” Ehrlich noted.

This is the second delivery of the Polish-built helicopters to the Philippines. Payload Asi learned that a third batch of choppers is expected to be delivered in the last quarter of 2021.

The first transport under a government-to-government agreement was completed in November 2020. This involved five similar S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, which were welcomed by the country’s air force at Clark Air Base, north of the Philippine capital, Manila.

In April this year, the Philippines and Poland signed an agreement to allow deals on defense hardware and the purchase of additional aircraft.