The S-67 Blackhawk got turned down time and again, but Sikorsky was undettered.
The S-67 Blackhawk got turned down time and again, but Sikorsky was undettered . Here’s What You Need to Remember: The S-67 Blackhawk wasn’t just fast, it also packed one hell of a punch. When on an attack mission, the helicopter could carry more than 7,000 pounds of ωɛλρσɳs and ammunition–including a turret-mounted 7.62 machine gun, 20 and 30mm cannons, 40mm grenade launchers, and even wing-mounted rockets or TOW missile pods to engage heavy armor or tanks. Sikorsky’s H-60 series of Black Hawk helicopters have become legendary for their prowess on the battlefield, but almost a decade before the first UH-60 entered service, Sikorsky had a different sort of Blackhawk in mind: The S-67 attack helicopter. The U.S. Army solicited proposals for the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) program, which aimed to be the first program in history to design a helicopter from the ground up for armed Military action. By February of 1965, the Army awarded contracts to both Lockheed a...