The US Department of Defense has approved the possible sale of 12 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Brazilian Army, the defense security cooperation agency announced on Friday.
The Brazilian order has been considered for several months and now depends on the approval of the US Congress as part of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
The value of the agreement is estimated at US$950 million, of which almost half corresponds to aircraft and the remainder to services and equipment.
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“The Government of Brazil has requested to buy twelve (12) UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters; thirty-four (34) T700-GE-701D engines (24 installed, 10 spares); twenty-eight (28) EAGLE-M Embedded Global Position Systems with Inertial Navigation (EGI) or functional equivalent (24 installed, 4 spares); and twenty-four (24) AN/ARC-231A radio systems,” said the statement.
According to the US government, the sale “ will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important regional partner that is a force for political stability and economic progress in South America.”
The helicopters will be used in troop transport, border security, medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search and rescue, and peacekeeping support.
The Brazilian Army is already an operator of the Black Hawk, having received four S-70s (civil version but which can be used for military missions) in 1997.
The Air Force and Navy also fly the Sikorsky model in different versions.