US State Department Clears Potential Sale of Four UH-60L Helicopters to Argentina

The US government has approved a potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) package that would supply Argentina with four Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters, along with two spare T700 engines from GE Aerospace. The US Department of State cleared the proposed transaction, which now moves through the notification process that governs major defence exports to allied nations.

Beyond the airframes and engines, the package covers a set of support items: internal auxiliary fuel tanks, fast rope equipment, rescue hoists, and a bamboo bucket (a Bambi-style firefighting bucket). Notably, no weapons are included in the listed configuration, underscoring the aircraft’s intended role in border security, disaster relief, and other non-combat missions.

In its notification, the State Department said the proposed sale would give Argentina additional capacity for border security, counter-transnational crime operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response, adding that the country should have no difficulty absorbing the aircraft and services into its armed forces.

GE appears in the deal as the engine supplier through its T700 turboshaft, a widely used powerplant across the Black Hawk family. Shares of GE closed at $325.48, down 2.98% from the previous close of $335.49, with a market capitalization of roughly $337.7 billion.

Sikorsky, the Lockheed Martin subsidiary listed as prime contractor, no longer manufactures the UH-60L variant, which suggests the helicopters in question will be secondhand examples rather than new builds. The UH-60L is an earlier variant of the Black Hawk utility helicopter, a type operated extensively by the US military and numerous allied nations.

The sale would arrive as Argentina’s rotary-wing fleet faces a significant age problem. According to Cirium, the aviation analytics firm, the Argentine armed forces operate 107 helicopters, including 50 Bell UH-1s split between the air force and army with an average age of 54 years. Across the entire military fleet, the average airframe is 50 years old. Introducing UH-60Ls would give Argentine forces a more modern, widely supported utility platform for logistics and rescue tasks, though the fleet renewal challenge remains substantial.

FMS notifications indicate US government approval of a possible sale; they do not guarantee that a contract will be signed or delivered on any particular timeline.

What to watch

• Formal contract award and any disclosed contract value for the four-helicopter package.
• Details on the age and condition of the secondhand UH-60L airframes to be transferred.
• GE Aerospace’s next earnings report for commentary on T700 engine demand and military propulsion orders.
• Any follow-on FMS notifications for additional Argentine rotary-wing modernization.

Source: original release.