June 23, 2011 defpro.com
PARIS, France | Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced today at the Paris Air Show that Colombia’s UH-60 BLACK HAWK helicopter fleet has surpassed the 300,000 flight hour milestone. Colombia’s Army, National Police, and Air Force combine to operate nearly 100 BLACK HAWK helicopters for a variety of missions including search and rescue, medical evacuation, disaster relief, anti-drug, and counter-insurgency operations. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
The BLACK HAWK helicopter was first introduced in Colombia in 1987 when the Air Force purchased its first few aircraft from the United States Government through the Foreign Military Sales system. The Colombian Army followed with its own first purchase of BLACK HAWK helicopters in 1997, and the National Police procured its first six aircraft in 1999.
Outside the United States, Colombia operates the world’s fourth largest BLACK HAWK helicopter fleet and the largest procured to date via the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales channel. Turkey, Japan and Korea have larger BLACK HAWK fleets resulting from either direct purchase from Sikorsky or to Sikorsky-licensed domestic production.
“We congratulate the Colombian military and National Police for achieving the 300,000 fleet hour milestone, and we thank them for the trust they have shown in our aircraft for nearly a quarter of a century,” said John Pacelli, Vice President, International Military Business for Sikorsky.
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