Article Posted on : - Jul 03, 2017

The UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC. Photo: Lockheed Martin

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA (BNS): The US government and Sikorsky, 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.

The "Multi-Year IX" contract for UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC aircraft includes options for an additional 103 aircraft. The deliveries are scheduled to begin in October of this year and continue through 2022.

The 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 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, a Lockheed Martin statement said.