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UH-60 Black Hawk vs Harbin Z-20: how to tell them apart

Two military helicopters that are easy to mix up at a glance. Here is what tells them apart.

UH-60 Black Hawk, military helicopter from USA

UH-60 Black Hawk

Military helicopter, USA. In service since 1979

What gives it away

Four-blade rotor, long low fuselage, tail wheel at the very back and a large canted tail rotor on the right.

Used by

USA, Poland, Sweden, Australia and many others

Photo: Matti Blume, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Harbin Z-20

Military helicopter, China. In service since 2019

What gives it away

Looks like a Black Hawk, but with a five-bladed main rotor instead of four and extra fairings on the spine.

Used by

China

Where they differ

DetailUH-60 Black HawkHarbin Z-20
Main rotor blades4 blades5 blades

What they share

These won’t tell them apart.

Test yourself: practise in Classic

UH-60 Black Hawk · Harbin Z-20 · All guides

UH-60 Black Hawk vs Harbin Z-20: how to tell them apart · Spotrep