ATHENS, April 3 (Reuters) – Greece has approved the purchase of 35 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters from U.S defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp in an effort to modernize its armed forces, two people with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

“The deal passed by the parliament’s committee is to buy 35 helicopters for 1.15 billion euros ($1.24 billion),” a government official told Reuters.

A second person confirmed the approval, which was agreed late on Tuesday.