There is recent news that the United States Department of Defense through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA) has approved the sale of 40 UH-60M Black Hawk multirole transport helicopters to the Australian Government.
Following the package of machines, sensor systems and supporting electronic devices, the sales value offered through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) program reached US$1.96 billion.
The Australian newspaper said that six UH-60M Black Hawks could be delivered in 2023 and all deliveries completed in 2026. As a US ally who is a member of the AUKUS defense pact, of course what Australia is asking for is the purchase of 40 UH-A. 60M feels normal and will certainly pass passed by the US congress.
However, did you know that the Black Hawk's debut in the Australian armed forces was like Old Love Re-Bringing Back (CLBK), why? This is because Australia is an old user of the Black Hawk, even the identity of the Australian Black Hawk was so attached during the INTERFET (International Force East Timor) operation in Timor Leste (formerly East Timor) in 1999. The title of Australian military forces at that time relied a lot on the Black Hawk.
Historically, Australia ordered 14 S-70A-9 Black Hawks in 1986 and an additional 25 Black Hawks in 1987. The first Black Hawks produced in the US were delivered in 1987 to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). As a form of technology transfer, de Havilland Australia then produced 38 units of the Black Hawk under license from Sikorsky. The first Australian Black Hawk units were delivered in 1988 and the last in 1991.
Following the reorganization, in 1989, the RAAF's Black Hawk fleet was transferred to the Australian Army. In the hands of the Australian Army, the Black Hawk was involved in missions in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor and Pakistan.
In April 2009, the then chief of defense, Marshal Angus Houston, told the government not to deploy Black Hawks to Afghanistan because Australian Black Hawks "do not have self-defense and armor systems", and although improvements have been made to address this, it is more practical. using allied helicopters.
In 2004 there was a change in strategy in the procurement of defense equipment, where the Australian Government selected the MRH-90 Taipan multirole helicopter, a variant of the NHIndustries NH90, to replace the Black Hawk even though the Ministry of Defense had recommended the S-70M Black Hawk.
In January 2014, the Australian Army began to suspend a fleet of 34 Black Hawks from service (five had been lost in accidents) and had planned to complete all flights by June 2018. However, the Australian Army Chief of Staff decided to postpone the retirement of 20 Black Hawks until 2021 to enabled the Army to develop a capable special operations role for the MRH-90.
And finally, on December 10, 2021, the S-70A-9 Black Hawk was officially retired from service. But uniquely, on the same day, amid problems with the performance of the MRH-90, the Australian Government announced that it would acquire 40 units of the UH-60M Black Hawk.
In the $1.96 billion sale, acting as prime contractor was Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, MD. And as usual, although this has not been decided at this time, buyers will generally ask for offsets, so far it is not known what kind of offset Australia is asking for from the 40-unit UH-60M Black Hawk project.
The UH-60M Black Hawk is a variant with improved design of wide chord rotor blades, T700-GE-701D engine, increased durability gearbox, Integrated Vehicle Health Management System (IVHMS) computer and a new glass cockpit. The UH-60M Black Hawk also adopts a fly-by-wire system and a Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit suite.
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