The Chilean Air Force already has a single Black Hawk in its inventory, and Sikorsky is looking to provide a further six to eight as the service seeks to strengthen its medium-lift capabilities.
Source: IHS/Gareth Jennings
Sikorsky is to pitch its S-70 Black Hawk to the Chilean Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de Chile: FACh) as that service looks to enhance its dual-use medium-lift capabilities, a company official told IHS Jane's on 8 April.
The US manufacturer offered no further details, except to say that it is offering its Black Hawk to fulfil a FACh tender for six to eight helicopters to reinforce the service's existing fleet of mainly Bell 412s and UH-1Hs. The chosen platform will be used to increase battlefield lift and disaster relief capabilities, with the potential for more helicopters to be bought at a later date.
In pitching for the requirement, Sikorsky joins AgustaWestland, Airbus Helicopters, Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), and Rosoboronexport which have offered the AW149, H215, Surion, and Mi-17 'Hip' respectively.
Most of Chile's helicopters are fielded by the army, but the air force operates a number of ageing Bell UH-1H 'Huey', Bell 412EP, and Bell 206 platforms. It also has a single S-70A in its inventory that it received in 1998.
While it is unclear at this time whether Sikorsky would be pitching the most advanced UH-60M-standard helicopter to Chile or surplus US Army UH-60A models, the Black Hawk in whichever configuration is ubiquitous through the Americas. As the workhorse of the US Army, the platform's capabilities are well proven, and the synergies that the FACh would be able to benefit from in terms of training, sustainment, and support, are obvious. In Latin America, the type is fielded in sizeable numbers by Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico also.
For AgustaWestland, the AW149 could be a tricky sell given that the FACh would be the type's launch customer (the company did offer the aircraft to Turkey, but it lost out to the Black Hawk).
With Bolivia already operating the Airbus Helicopters H215 in the region, and the Chilean army and navy operating a combination of the Puma, Super Puma (as the H215 was previously known), and Cougar (H215M), the H215 will be a strong contender for the FACh.
