Black Hawk helicopters: Immediately the signatures for their acquisition

The acquisition of the 35 helicopters of the U.S. company Sikorsky will concern the first arms system acquisition agreement, after prioritizing the equipment needs made by its political and military leadership. Within the coming week, following the little delay due to the motion of censure tabled against the government, the relevant report on Black Hawks is expected to pass and be approved by its committee responsible to follow the approval of the CYSEA in order to pave the way for the signing of the contract even within April. The UH-60 helicopter acquisition program M Black Hawk is the first to buy a new main weapons system for many years for the Land Army. The very low availability of aged Huey, which ranges below 40% for the 56 UH-1, which are used by the Army Air Force, makes it imperative that they be replaced by new helicopters, which can be operated and supported for the next 30 years at least. While, their maintenance is made easier, as they will have the same engines as the Apache AH-64 already available helicopters as well as the Navy non-60 Romeos under acquisition. Let alone when Army Air Force technicians have known and maintained the Apache offensive helicopter engines since the mid-90s when the first AH-64s were acquired. Furthermore, the advantages of Black Hawk are credited with using common ammunition with those of Apache and Kiowa Warrior, such as Hellfire rockets and guided rockets. Despite the fact that the 35 BlackHawk come to replace more in number of helicopters, their increased transport and operational capabilities overcome, according to Army Air Force studies, the difference, while their very high availability as new means give them a large number in flight hours. In addition, the fact that they will be gradually acquired at a depth of three years helps in the smooth periodic maintenance process, so that availability always remains at very high levels. The first 4 helicopters are expected to be delivered by the construction company Sikorsky in late 2025, with the remaining 31 being gradually received by the end of 2027. At the same time, the withdrawal of UH-1 will begin, while there are considerations to maintain a small number in order to meet specific monitoring needs for a few more years. The total 20 million flight hours of the Black Hawks, used by 35 countries worldwide, guarantee the quality of the helicopters acquired by the Greek Armed Forces. While the fact that UH-60Ms have so far “written” at least 1 million hours of battle in many business theatres shows that they are tested aerials within a series of high mission requirements. The high survival index of Black Hawk against not only portable Manpads, but also all kinds of guided missiles, is one of the main advantages of helicopters. After all, the recent war in Ukraine has clearly shown that aerial means without modern self-protection systems, such as flares and chaffs, are doomed as easy targets in today’s field of operations with multiple threats. By Kostas Sarika / onalert.gr