Sikorsky Aircraft Corp was awarded a US$48.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of four “green” UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense announced last week.
Work will be performed at the Sikorsky plant in Stratford, Connecticut, with an estimated -completion date of May 30, 2013, said the release, issued on Thursday.
The four “green” helicopters — a term referring to initial assembly of a standard platform before customer add-ons are requested — are part of the 60 Black Hawk utility helicopters included in the US$6.4 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) notified to US Congress in January last year.
The estimated total cost for all 60 helicopters is US$3.1 billion.
The package includes a request for radar warning receivers, infrared countermeasure sets, missile-warning systems, laser-detecting sets, spare engines, machine gun systems, aviator night vision goggles and communication/data link systems for Taiwan’s “Po-Sheng” C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and -reconnaissance) architecture.
Once integrated into the armed forces, the Black Hawks will replace its aging fleet of UH-1H Huey helicopters and serve a series of functions, including personnel movement, cargo lifting and medical evacuation, as well as defense of vital installations and close air support for ground forces.
The UH-60M is the US Army’s primary multi-mission helicopter.
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