The US government and Sikorsky (www.sikorsky.com.au) (a Lockheed Martin company) have signed a five-year contract for 257 H-60 Black Hawk helicopters to be delivered to the US Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.

According to Sikorsky, the contract value is about $3.8 billion initially, but there are options for an additional 103 aircraft that could take it to $5.2 billion.

Actual production quantities will be determined year by year over the life of the programme, based on funding allocations set by Congress and Pentagon acquisition priorities. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in October
of this year and continue through to 2022.

UH-60M/HH-60M helicopters are the latest and most modern in a series of Black Hawk variants that Sikorsky has been delivering to the US Army since 1978. They provide additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, improved survivability, and improved producibility.

Sam Mehta, president of defence systems and services at Sikorsky, said: “This contract allows us to continue supporting the important missions that the Black Hawk performs as the workhorse utility and medical-evacuation
helicopter in the US Army’s inventory.”