Sweden Becomes 1st European Nation to Procure UH-60M Helicopters

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today announced that the U.S. Government has agreed to sell 15 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (or FMV, which is the Swedish acronym) for operation by the Swedish Armed forces. The transaction will take place under the U.S. Government's Foreign Military Sales program, and represents the introduction of the latest and most technologically advanced Black Hawk model into Europe. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. The Swedish Armed Forces will use the aircraft for medical evacuation, utility, and search and rescue missions. Sikorsky is slated to deliver six of the helicopters in 2011 and the remaining nine in 2012 under an accelerated production schedule. Sweden is a member of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. "We're honored to support the Swedish Armed Forces, and we congratulate them for being the first European Union nation to choose this highly evolved UH-60M aircraft, which is part of a lineage of aircraft that have proven themselves countless times under the most extreme conditions all over the world," said Mick Maurer, President of Sikorsky Military Systems. The UH-60M helicopter is the latest version in the long and highly successful BLACK HAWK family. It is flown by the U.S. Army and provides additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, improved handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, and improved survivability compared with the predecessor UH-60L model.