The Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk was a private-venture, prototype attack helicopter built in 1970 with Sikorsky Aircraft research and development (R&D) funds.A tandem, two-seat aircraft designed around the dynamic drive and rotor systems of the Sikorsky S-61, it was designed to serve as an attack helicopter or to transport up to eight troops into combat.

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.

One year before the United States entered the Vietnam W4r, 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 and Sikorsky for further development on their respective designs, with Sikorsky fielding an entrant they called the S-66, and Lockheed submitting their own CL-840 Cheyenne. Ulᴛι̇ɱately, Lockheed’s proposal would win out and secure a developmental contract for 10 of their combat helicopters, only to have the program unceremoniously scrapped in 1969 after Lockheed had failed to make satisfactory progress addressing a number of technical issues within Cheyenne.