Austria orders 12 Black Hawks
© Lockheed Martin
The Austrian government has placed an order to buy 12 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin through the US government
The contract was signed on 30 June, with deliveries due to begin in 2028. The US government had previously approved the foreign military sale on 29 May.
The new aircraft will double the size of the Austrian Air Force’s Black Hawk fleet, and will replace a set of 23 Agusta-Bell AB212 rotorcraft that have been in service since 1980.
Speaking to local news, Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said: “With the purchase of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, we are making significant progress in improving our operational capability.
“They will be invaluable to us in a wide range of operational scenarios, particularly in challenging mountainous regions and under extreme weather conditions,” she added.
The Croatian government placed an order for eight UH-60Ms of its own earlier this year.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector!