HORSEHEADS, New York – Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today celebrated the formal delivery of a UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopter to the Defense Forces of Bahrain. It is the first of nine aircraft that will ultimately be delivered. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX). 

The delivery also marks the beginning of the first squadron of UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters that will be operated by an international military organization. The Royal Bahrain Air Force will fly the aircraft for military operations that include protection of sovereign borders as well as protection and defense of U.S. and coalition strategic facilities.

“The Bahrain Air Force is getting a powerful tool in the UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopter,” said Doug Shidler, Sikorsky Vice President, U.S. Government Programs. “The sophistication and capabilities of this aircraft will greatly enhance the Bahrain military’s ability, and will serve their country well for years to come.”

Bahrain officials signed the U.S. Army Letter of Offer and Acceptance on May 7, 2007, to purchase nine UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters through a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), the first such sale for the UH-60M aircraft.

The aircraft are being completed at Sikorsky’s Military Derivatives Completion Center in Horseheads, N.Y. Deliveries are scheduled to continue into 2010.

The UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopter is a twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter designed to a U.S. Army requirement to carry an 11-man squad and four-man crew under combat conditions. Sikorsky Aircraft has been manufacturing the BLACK HAWK helicopter for the U.S. Army since 1978. The UH-60M helicopter is the latest and the most advanced model to be fielded to the U.S. Army.

The UH-60M helicopter provides additional payload and range, improved handling qualities, lower operating costs, and greater survivability than earlier generation BLACK HAWK helicopters. These improvements are achieved with improved engines, revolutionary rotor blade design, improved durability transmission system, advanced digital avionics and an integrated “glass” cockpit.

Source: Sikorsky