January 29 (SeeNews) - The United States has approved the potential sale of Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment and services to Croatia for an estimated $500 million (462 million euro), the Pentagon said.
"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release on Friday.
The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky.
The proposed sale will improve Croatia’s capability to deter current and future threats and support coalition operations as well as promote interoperability with the United States and other NATO forces, it added.
The deal includes eight UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters; nineteen T700-GE 701D engines; 20 AN/ARC-231A RT-1987 very high frequency (VHF) / ultra high frequency (UHF) / Line of Sight (LOS) satellite communications (SATCOM) radios; 10 AN/AAR-57 Counter Missile Warning Systems (CMWS); 20 H-764U Embedded Global Position Systems with Inertial Navigation (EGI) and Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) (or future replacement); and 18 M240H machine guns.
Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin and Romania’s aircraft construction and repair company Aerostar [BSE:ARS] said they inaugurated Europe’s first certified S-70 Black Hawk helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service centre in Romania’s eastern city of Bacau.
($ = 0.924 euro)