Philippine Air Force to get its first Black Hawk flight simulator under Lockheed Martin contract

The Philippine Air Force will get a full flight simulator for its S-70i Black Hawk military helicopters, letting it train pilots at home for the first time. Lockheed Martin said on 8 October 2026 that it had signed a direct commercial sale contract with the Philippine Department of National Defense for the simulator, a virtual maintenance trainer and the courseware that goes with them.

The company said the deal is the first order anywhere for its S-70i Black Hawk training devices. It did not disclose the value of the contract or a delivery schedule. The package also includes sustainment and spare parts support through 2032, according to the company's announcement.

Training at home instead of in the United States

Until the new training capability is in place, the air force will keep sending Black Hawk pilots to the Sikorsky Training Academy in the United States, Lockheed Martin said. The Manila Times reported that the system will let the service do more of its training locally, cutting its reliance on overseas facilities and on operational helicopters for pilot training.

Lockheed Martin describes the simulator as a digital twin of the aircraft that reproduces the sights and sensations of flying an S-70i. The maintenance trainer uses physics-based models of every airframe subsystem, from hydraulics to avionics, so that technicians can practise inspection and repair work in a simulated setting rather than on a real helicopter. The company says its family of Black Hawk training devices ranges from desktop trainers to fully immersive virtual environments. Simulators of this kind let crews rehearse procedures without the fuel use, airframe wear and risk of live flights, Interesting Engineering noted.

Tim James, Lockheed Martin's vice president for air and commercial solutions, called the award a long-term investment in the air force's mission readiness. William Blair, the company's regional chief executive for Asia and India, said the systems would support a growing force and an expanding Black Hawk fleet while advancing the service's wider modernisation goals.

A fleet of 48 Polish-built helicopters

The Philippines flies its Black Hawks for troop transport, search and rescue, humanitarian aid and firefighting across the archipelago. The helicopters are built in Poland by PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Manila signed a first contract for 16 S-70i helicopters in 2019 and a second for 32 more in February 2022, and PZL Mielec says it has now delivered all 48, The Manila Times reported.

Rafal Leskiewicz, a spokesman for Polish President Karol Nawrocki, has described the Philippines as the largest foreign customer for Black Hawks made at Mielec and said it could buy more of the aircraft, according to the newspaper. Lockheed Martin also provides training systems for the F-35, F-16, C-130J and CH-53K.