The United States has awarded Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, a Foreign Military Sale contract to supply 35 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Hellenic Army.
The deal, estimated at $1.95 billion (€1.78 billion), includes the aircraft, personnel training, training equipment, and an initial provisioning package. The helicopters will replace the aging Bell UH-1 Iroquois operated by Greek Land Forces, currently being phased out.
“Our partnership with Greece spans decades, and we are pleased to see the nation’s continued trust in Sikorsky helicopters as Greece will benefit from an integrated Hawk family of aircraft supporting national security and humanitarian missions,” said Hamid Salim, Sikorsky vice president of Army and Air Force Systems. “The Black Hawk helicopter offers Greece a range of operational capabilities and a global ecosystem of more than 5,000 Hawk aircraft operated by 36 countries around the world.”
The UH-60M Black Hawk, renowned for its versatility and reliability since its introduction in 1974, can support a variety of missions, including air transport, patient transport, evacuations, special forces operations, parachutist drop-offs, and aerial firefighting.
The helicopter boasts a range of approximately 590 kilometers (370 miles), which can be extended to around 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles) with additional fuel tanks. Its top speed is 300 kilometers (190 miles) per hour, and its maximum flight altitude is around 6,000 meters (20,000 feet).
Greece already operates around 30 Sikorsky MH-60R and S-70B Seahawk helicopters, flown by the Hellenic Navy. Both aircraft types are derivatives of the UH-60 Black Hawk, allowing for future sustainment optimizations across the different fleets.
The Hellenic Air Force is also planning to acquire 14 AW139 helicopters from the Italian group Leonardo for its combat search and rescue needs, replacing the current fleet of Super Puma helicopters. A first order for three helicopters was placed in May 2024.