Cal Guard's UH-60M makes first flight in California — A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard, makes its first flight from Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, May 24, 2018. The helicopter is the first M model UH-60 in the California Army National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Crystal Housman)

For $950 million, the United States authorizes the sale of 12 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Brazilian Army.

Por

25 May, 2024

The government of the United States has authorized the potential sale of twelve (12) UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Brazilian Army (EB). This is evident from one of the most recent statements from the Department of State, which notifies the U.S. Congress of the potential operation through the FMS Program for approval.

The authorization issued by the Department of State follows the information previously provided by the Commander of the Brazilian Army, General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, who, during a legislative hearing, informed about the force’s requirement to renew part of its fleet of utility helicopters. In more detail, the need to replace the Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk (HM-2) and Airbus AS532 UE Cougar (HM-3) operated by the Army Aviation was highlighted.

Last August, we reported that “…The need to replace both models is based on their obsolescence, compounded by increasing operating costs due to difficulties in acquiring spare parts. Currently, four HM-2 helicopters are in service with the 4th Army Aviation Battalion (4th BAvEx) in Manaus, while eight HM-3 are divided between the 2nd BAvEx in Taubaté and the 3rd BAvEx in Campo Grande (MS)…”.

Following the report from yesterday, May 24th, by the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the government of Brazil requested from the United States the purchase of up to twelve (12) UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters. Based on the information provided, the value of the operation reaches $950 million, which must be divided into “…$450 million in Major Defense Equipment and up to $500 million in other equipment and services,” with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, as the main supplier.

Although further details about the condition of the aircraft were not provided, speculation based on the information provided by the Commander of the EB suggests that they could be second-hand units. However, the package authorized by the Department of State includes a significant logistical package and associated equipment for operating this potential fleet of twelve Black Hawks made available to the Brazilian Army.

Among them, the presence of thirty-four (34) T700-GE-701D engines, inertial navigation systems, AN/ARC-231A radios, IFF transponders, VRC-100 high-frequency communication systems, to name a few items, stands out, which would guarantee a broad availability of the aircraft.

*Photographs used for illustration purposes.