ZK-HKU/HELITACK 679 Sikorsky EH-60A Black Hawk (MSN 701132) of Kahu , at Serpentine Airfield, Western Australia – 20 December 2021. Modified for firefighting, this aircraft was shipped to Sydney, NSW, then transported by road to Jandakot Airport, Western Australia and then flown to Serpentine, arriving on 20 December 2021. It is based at Serpentine until April 2022, operating under contract to the Western Australian Government, under control of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES). It carries 4,500 Litres of water in a tank which retracts for landing, with a snorkel used to hover fill the tank. Built in 1986, ex United States Army serial 86-24572. Delivered from Sikorsky in July 1987, and converted by Tracor Flight Systems Inc at Mojave, California to an EH-60A Quick Fix II. This included AN/ALQ-151 multi-role tactical Electronic Warfare system, four dipole antennae mounted in pairs on either side of the tailboom, a deployable whip antenna beneath the aft section of the main cabin, AN/ALQ-144 infrared countermeasures set and flare/chaff dispensers. The EH-60A was used to intercept, locate and jam enemy communications and pass intelligence. Damaged 19 April 1991 when it was blown over in a clamshell hangar during a wind storm at Fort Hood, Texas (TT 543.8hrs). Transferred to Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas for repairs, 6 May 1991 – 23 Jun 1992. Later went to US Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama, 17 Aug 2000 (TT 742.3hrs). US Army Aviation Warfare Center, Fort Rucker. Wore code number ’72K’ at US Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker. Transferred to Science and Engineering Services LLC, Huntsville, Alabama on 23 May 2018 (TT 7,934hrs). Available for purchase by federal agencies, June 2018. For sale by GSA Auctions at Huntsville 12 June 2018. On 29 August 2018 it was registered as N160PA with Pickering Aviation Inc, Corinth, Texas. On 11 June 2019, N160PA arrived at Auckland Port in New Zealand (on board container ship Cap Capricorn, arriving from Long Beach, California). On 12 June 2019 N160PA was flown to Ardmore Airport, NZ. Registration N160PA was cancelled on 8 January 2020 and it was registered in New Zealand as ZK-HKU to Kahu NZ on 13 January 2020. Photo © Jayden Hills.