DoD procures new Black Hawk helos worth USD3.8 billion for US and Saudi Arabia

[Zarvan]

The US military and Saudi Arabia are to receive USD3.8 billion's worth of new Black Hawk helicopters, similar to this US Army HH-60M MEDEVAC example. Source: IHSMarkit/Gareth Jennings

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Sikorsky a USD3.8 billion contract to manufacture 257 H-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the US Army and Saudi Arabia, it announced on 30 June.

The multiyear contract, which is the ninth for the Black Hawk, covers UH-60M utility and HH-60M medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) Black Hawks, and will run for five-years through to 30 June 2022.

As well as programme system management, engineering, technical data and publications, the contract includes options for a further 103 helicopters and will be worth USD5.2 billion should all of the options be exercised. Neither the DoD nor Lockheed Martin provided a break-down of the contract in terms of the numbers of helicopters earmarked for the US Army and the number for Saudi Arabia.

The UH-60M is the newest Black Hawk variant in service, and incorporates more powerful and reliable General Electric T700-GE-701D engines, enhanced rotor blades, and a fully digital 'glass' cockpit. According to Jane's World Armies , the US Army currently fields close to 2,000 Black Hawk helicopters of all variants. The service has a final goal of fielding 1,375 UH-60M and 760 UH-60L (digitally upgraded) platforms by the time that the programme is complete.

While the announcement did not say which branch of the Saudi military would receive the new helicopters, the Black Hawk is currently known to be fielded by the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) and the Saudi Arabia National Guard (SANG). The maritime-variant Seahawk has been procured by the Royal Saudi Navy (RSN) also. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) does not currently operate the Black Hawk, though it would make operational and logistical sense for it do so given that the type is already in service with a number of other branches of the Saudi military and government. While not mentioned in previous Black Hawk sales related to Saudi Arabia, the Royal Guard could be a candidate for the type also.

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