US clears Argentina to buy four Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters
The US State Department approved a possible sale of four Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters to Argentina, along with spare engines and mission equipment. The helicopters are likely secondhand, as Sikorsky no longer produces that variant.
The US government has approved a potential Foreign Military Sales package to Argentina for four Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters. The deal includes two spare GE Aerospace T700 engines, internal auxiliary fuel tanks, fast rope equipment, rescue hoists, and a bamboo bucket, according to the US Department of State. No weapons are listed in the package.
The proposed sale would improve Argentina's ability to conduct border security, counter-transnational crime, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response, the State Department said. It added that Argentina would have no difficulty absorbing the helicopters into its armed forces.
Sikorsky is named as the prime contractor, but the company no longer produces the UH-60L variant. That indicates the helicopters are likely to be secondhand examples, the source notes.
Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows Argentina operates 107 military helicopters. Fifty are Bell UH-1s with an average age of 54 years, and the overall fleet's average age is 50 years.
Sources
- flightglobal.comArgentina cleared to buy four UH-60Ls