The Government of Greece signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) today making official its intent to procure 35 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), via U.S. government Foreign Military Sale. In addition to the aircraft, the procurement also includes personnel training and training equipment to ensure the helicopters’ smooth integration into the Hellenic Army. With its existing S-70B fleet and newly acquired MH-60R maritime helicopters for the Hellenic Navy, Greece will operate several variants of the Hawk family and benefit from the operational and sustainment advantages of fleet commonality. As the world’s premier multi-role utility helicopter with 5 million combat hours, the Black Hawk will offer Greece a range of operational capabilities and a global ecosystem of more than 5,000 Hawk aircraft.
“We are honored to expand our existing partnership with the Hellenic Armed Forces with the addition of the UH-60M Black Hawk to their growing fleet. The Black Hawk is the best solution for Greece’s multi-mission requirements with capabilities enhancing the nation’s effectiveness in the 21st Century Security battlespace,” said Costas Papadopoulos, international business development director for Greece at Lockheed Martin.
“The latest generation UH-60M Black Hawk will support the Hellenic Ministry of Defense’s ongoing modernization and will serve as a dependable helicopter for vital national and allied security missions. Trusted and operated by more than 35 nations, including a growing number of NATO allies, the multi-role Black Hawk helicopter provides unmatched global interoperability, significantly increasing Greece’s deterrent capability and that of all NATO member countries,” said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky.
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Named after the Native American war leader Black Hawk, the UH-60A entered service with the U.S. Army in 1979, to replace the Bell UH-1 Iroquois as the Army’s tactical transport helicopter. This was followed by the fielding of electronic warfare and special operations variants of the Black Hawk. Improved UH-60L and UH-60M utility variants have also been developed. The UH-60M/S-70M Black Hawk is the aircraft of choice for replacing legacy medium-lift utility helicopter fleets, with flexibility to conduct variety of missions at greater ranges and in the most challenging environments, and with increased survivability over other aircraft.
