The Black Hawk makes a difference on the field, the Israeli Armed Forces found, proceeding to order helicopters, as Greece did, and in fact the version procured by the Hellenic Special Forces of the “Shadows of the Aegean”, of the Special Warfare Command (DEP ) of GEETHA.
By Christos Mazanitis
Following the implementation of a ceasefire along the border with Lebanon from 10.00 am on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are intensifying discussions about with a new security doctrine to protect the border, which will likely require the procurement of new weapon systems and a completely different concept of operational defense.
The existing border defense strategy proved inadequate during the October 7, 2023 attacks on the Gaza Strip, and similar vulnerabilities were exposed along the border with Lebanon. Israel Hayom has learned that one of the options being considered by the defense establishment is the acquisition of an armed air platform for border defense that can respond quickly to threats and operate in close coordination with ground forces.
Due to operational stress and attrition, Israeli military officials believe that current aerial platforms are inadequate for the required border defense mission and cannot provide an optimal response. As a result, Israel is considering several options, including Air Tractor, Efroni and attack drones. However, the main platform under consideration is the Black Hawk helicopter, which can also be loaded with weapons.
US Special Forces have already had experience with an armed version of the Black Hawk since 1991, first deployed during the Gulf War. The advantage of an armed Black Hawk is that it already exists in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) as Yanshuf, although it is currently used mainly for offensive transport, evacuation and rescue missions. Since the helicopter is already operational in the IAF, the acquisition of an armed version it would require minimal resources for pilot training and maintenance, especially given spare parts availability. The Israelis estimate that the helicopter could serve both attack missions and armed border defense operations.
Greece has already signed a contract with the USA since last year for the supply of 35 Black Hawk UH-60 helicopters and indeed in the “M” version, which is the latest evolution of the helicopter.
It is recalled that he was an advocate of uniformity in the flying means of the Armed Forces the honorary Chief of GEETHA Konstantinos Floroswho believed in and promoted the reinforcement of the Navy with 7 Romeo helicopters and the upgrade of 11 Bravo Aegean Hawk, which are the naval version of the Black Hawk supplied by the Army.
Thus, the Hellenic Armed Forces, with their procurement acquire a solid fleet of a total of 53 Black Hawk helicopters in different versions, with what this entails for their joint procurement and maintenance, at the same time as the economies of scale that are created.
Unfortunately, the Air Force was left out of the supply of 12 helicopters for its own needs, having initially decided to proceed with the selection of a helicopter that the US Armed Forces had in a Pentagon report wrapped in a sticky note, since it was unreliable and too expensive to its maintenance. In the end, the PA decided not to proceed with the procurement of the specific type, but when it asked to enter the order of 35 Black Hawk, valuable time had already been lost and the order had been closed.
As for the heavily armed Black Hawk of the Greek Special Forces, it is the same configuration that the Israelis are planning to acquire.
Greece is the 12th European country to acquire the Black Hawk. In 2024, the US government awarded Sikorsky contracts to build and deliver a total of 84 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America, effectively proving that the Black Hawk is the premier multi-role helicopter in the whole world. On October 23, Sikorsky was also awarded contracts to deploy Black Hawk UH-60M fleets in Austria, Brazil, Sweden and Thailand. In July, Sikorsky received contracts for additional Black Hawks in Croatia and Jordan. In June, Romania also added to its fleet S-70 Black Hawk, which are of the same “family” as the UH-60M.
According to information from enikos.gr, the final price of each unit amounts to 19 million. euros while the official selling price is 27 million. euros, i.e. 34% more. The reason Greece is buying at this price is because when it submitted the request it “locked” the purchase price with the equivalent of the US Army, which had then proceeded to a large order of helicopters.
Additional, all helicopters come with self-protection systems, basic equipment and are all armed.
The final price reaches 1.13 billion. euros and this includes an additional 4 engines, tool collections and support (Follow On Support) for 2 + 5 years. The difference is that in the first 2 there is also the cost of purchasing the helicopter support tools while the next 5 include only the spare parts.
The first Black Hawks are expected to be received by the Greek Army in late 2025 and early 2026.
Source: www.enikos.gr
