The Commander of the Brazilian Army, General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, confirmed a few days ago that the force has made progress in the acquisition of second-hand UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from US stocks. The announcement of the acquisition was It took place within the framework of the 2nd Ordinary Legislative Session of the Foreign Relations and National Defense commission on April 17.
According to what was expressed by the General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, the acquisition of the North American Black Hawks is due to the requirement of the Brazilian Army to replace 12 helicopters, most likely in reference to the Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk (HM-2) and Airbus AS532 UE Cougar (HM -3) operated by Army Aviation.
In August of last year we reported that “…The need to replace both models is based on their obsolescence, to which is added an increasingly increasing operating cost due to the difficulty in acquiring spare parts. Currently four HM-2 helicopters are in service with the 4th Army Aviation Battalion (4th BAvEx) in Manaus, while eight HM-3 are divided between the 2nd BAvEx in Taubaté and the 3rd BAvEx in Campo Grande (MS)… ”.
The US Army has a considerable number of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in stock, available for purchase through programs offered by the US government. The demand for second-hand UH-60s will surely increase in the coming years due to the US Army’s decision to decommission up to 157 Black Hawks.
“…With this surplus of 157 UH-60 Black Hawks, the US Army plans to put them up for sale through the different programs that the Department of Defense maintains for the disposal of material and weapons, such as FMS (Foreign Military Sale) or EDA (Excess Defense Article). McCurry mentioned that each helicopter is expected to cost approximately USD 2 million…”we reported at the end of December last year.
During his speech, the Commander of the Brazilian Army also made reference to the general situation of the Force, detailing that “…the Army’s obsolescence rate is 42%. We have to buy or replace artillery and repower our armored vehicles, of which there are about 220. In addition, the helicopter fleet has to be constantly updated…”.
In relation to the aforementioned, the Brazilian Army recently announced the selection of Elbit’s Atmos artillery combat vehicle for its VBC OAP 155mm SR project, which aims to acquire 36 units. Another critical point is armored vehicles, for which there are various projects underway and yet to begin.
Illustrative cover image. Credits: DoD
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