Brazil gets go-ahead for 12 Black Hawk helicopters

The US State Department has approved Brazil’s request for the purchase of 12 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in a deal worth up to US$950 million. The deal will break down as an initial acquisition of $450 million in Major Defense Equipment and up to $500 million in other equipment and services.

Key roles planned for the Black Hawks include troop transport, border security, medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search and rescue, and peacekeeping support.

Systems including 34 T700-GE-701D engines (24 installed, 10 spares), 28 EAGLE-M Embedded Global Position Systems with Inertial Navigation (EGI) or functional equivalent (24 installed, 4 spares) and 24 AN/ARC-231A radio systems were included within the deal.

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Additional C4ISR systems will include APX-123A Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders, AN/ARC-231 radio systems, ARC-201D Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) or functional equivalent sand ARC-220 high-frequency airborne communication systems or functional equivalents.

Cockpit systems will include Aviation Mission Planning System, HGU-56/P Rotary Wing Helmets, Advanced Sight display computers, common display interface units, wide colour day and night display modules (WCDDM) and RDR-7000 weather radar systems.

External rescue hoists, traffic collision avoidance systems, fast rope insertion/extraction systems, EBC-406HM Emergency Locator Transmitters and internal auxiliary fuel tank system (IAFTS) will also be included.

Earlier this month, Brazilian Army commander General Tomas Miguel Mine Ribeiro Paiva noted the planned purchase was for second-hand aircraft but the price point indicated it was more likely for new aircraft. There has been no mention of the aircraft being second hand in the statement of approval.

The approval has been well foreshadowed with Shephard Defence Insight, which noted a Brazilian delegation reportedly visited the US Army Security Assistance Command in early December 2023. During the reported visit Brazilian generals got to know the latest version of the Black Hawk, the UH-60M Black Hawk, and discussed the possible purchase to be made through FMS.

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