The Commander of the Brazilian Army, General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, confirmed a few days ago that the force has made progress in acquiring second-hand UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from U.S. stocks. The announcement of the acquisition was made during the 2nd Ordinary Legislative Session of the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee on April 17th.
According to General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, the acquisition of the American Black Hawks is due to the Brazilian Army’s requirement to replace 12 helicopters, most likely referring to the Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk (HM-2) and Airbus AS532 UE Cougar (HM-3) operated by the Army Aviation.
Last August, we reported that “…The need to replace both models is based on their obsolescence, compounded by increasingly high operational costs due to difficulties in acquiring spare parts. Currently, four HM-2 helicopters are in service with the 4th Army Aviation Battalion (4º BAvEx) in Manaus, while eight HM-3 are divided between the 2nd BAvEx in Taubaté and the 3rd BAvEx in Campo Grande (MS)…”.
The U.S. Army has a considerable number of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in stock, available for purchase through programs offered by the U.S. government. The demand for second-hand UH-60s is likely to increase in the coming years, given the U.S. Army’s decision to retire up to 157 Black Hawks.
“…With this surplus of 157 UH-60 Black Hawks, the U.S. Army plans to sell them through various programs maintained by the Department of Defense for the disposal of material and weaponry, whether through FMS (Foreign Military Sale) or EDA (Excess Defense Article). McCurry mentioned that it is expected that each helicopter will reach an approximate price of USD 2 million…”, we reported at the end of last December.
During his speech, the Commander of the Brazilian Army also referred to the general situation of the Force, detailing that “…the obsolescence rate of the Army is 42%. We need to buy or replace artillery and upgrade our armored vehicles, of which there are about 220. In addition, the helicopter fleet needs to be constantly updated…”.
In relation to the above, the Brazilian Army recently announced the selection of the Elbit Atmos artillery combat vehicle for its VBC OAP 155mm SR project, aimed at acquiring 36 units. Another critical point is armored vehicles, for which there are various ongoing and upcoming projects.
Illustrative cover image. Credits: DoD
You may also like: The navies of Brazil and France deployed their multipurpose ships NAM Atlântico and Tonnerre in amphibious operations during Operation “Jeanne d’Arc 2024”
