US approves the sale of four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters to Argentina for $140 million.

The United States State Department has approved a potential $140 million Foreign Military Sale to Argentina for four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and two T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines. Managed through the Foreign Military Sales program, the procurement package includes integrated avionics, navigation suites, auxiliary fuel systems, and multi-mission utility hardware to establish the Argentine Army's inaugural Black Hawk unit. This defense acquisition is intended to modernize Argentina's rotary-wing fleet while expanding tactical transport, border security, and disaster response capabilities.

The $140 million defense package covers four Sikorsky UH-60L airframes, eight installed and spare General Electric T700 engines, Garmin GPS navigation, and specialized rescue or firefighting equipment. Prime contractor Sikorsky will provide comprehensive logistics, maintenance tools, and aircrew training without including any offensive weaponry or active tactical missile systems.

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Argentina will soon receive its first four UH-60L helicopters under a possible $140 million U.S. Foreign Military Sale to establish the Argentine Army's first Black Hawk unit. (Picture source: US DoD)

On September 10, 2026, the U.S. approved a possible $140 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Argentina covering four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters, two spare T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines, and the equipment required to establish the Argentine Army's first Black Hawk unit. The ceiling equals $35 million per aircraft on a program-value basis, but includes avionics, auxiliary fuel, fast-rope systems, rescue hoists, cargo hooks, Bambi buckets, spares, training and support rather than four airframes alone. Four helicopters require eight installed engines, so two spares equal a 25% engine reserve. The FMS follows Defense Minister Carlos Alberto Presti's June confirmation that Argentina was negotiating for four UH-60Ls, initially seeking two units delivered before the end of 2026 with logistics and training support. At 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) maximum gross weight, 11 troops and 9,000 lb (4,082 kg) of rated external lift per aircraft, the first four helicopters would provide a theoretical 44 troop seats and 36,000 lb (16.3 tonnes) of combined hook capacity per sortie cycle.

In the $140 million package, navigation equipment includes Garmin GTN-750 GPS units, AN/ARN-123 or AN/ARN-147 VOR/ILS receivers and AN/ARN-89 or AN/ARN-149 automatic direction finders; identification equipment includes APX-100 and APX-123 IFF transponders; communication includes AN/ARC-220 HF, ARC-186 VHF and Cobham C-5000 multiband radios. The FMS also includes internal auxiliary tanks, fast-rope insertion and extraction equipment, rescue hoists, cargo hooks, and Bambi buckets, allowing the same UH-60L to rotate between assault transport, external cargo, rescue and firefighting. No missiles, rockets, targeting turret or offensive weapon package is included, so the acquisition remains centered on utility and support missions. Spare parts, tools, test equipment, maintenance and aircrew training systems, transportation and engineering support account for another portion of the $140 million ceiling. Argentina had previously attempted a smaller procurement: a December 2024 tender sought three used S-70/UH-60 helicopters, spares for 960 flight hours, cargo hooks, rappel and fast-rope equipment, auxiliary tanks and initial training, but that process was cancelled on January 7, 2025.

The UH-60L was developed in 1987 specifically to recover performance lost as the UH-60A became heavier. The final production UH-60A weighed 11,253 lb (5,104 kg) empty and used two T700-GE-700 engines producing 1,622 shp each. The L-model's T700-GE-701C increased intermediate-rated power to 1,857 shp per engine, a 235-shp (14.5%) increase, taking combined output from 3,244 to 3,714 shp. Gearbox capacity simultaneously increased from 2,828 to 3,400 hp, a 572-hp (20.2%) gain, while the transmission reduces roughly 20,000-rpm input to 258 rpm at the main rotor. Argentina's package goes beyond the original engine standard by incorporating the T700-GE-701D, the engine used by the UH-60M Black Hawk and rated up to about 2,000 shp. The aircraft nevertheless retains the L-model's 53 ft 8 in (16.36 m) four-blade main rotor rather than obtaining additional lift through a larger rotor diameter.

The resulting performance difference is concentrated in climb, hover, and payload rather than speed. Maximum gross weight increased from 20,250 lb on the UH-60A to 22,000 lb on the UH-60L, an 8.6% increase, while hook capacity rose from 8,000 to 9,000 lb, or 12.5%. U.S. Army comparative climb performance increased from 814 to 1,315 ft/min, a 501 ft/min (61.5%) improvement, whereas cruise speed changed only from 149 to 150 kt. Out-of-ground-effect hover ceiling increased from 4,540 to 6,110 ft (34.6%), and in-ground-effect hover ceiling from 8,740 to 10,370 ft (18.6%). The historical service ceiling is 16,310 ft (4,971 m), while first-production aircraft achieved 1,550 ft/min climb and 152 kt at 4,000 ft and 95°F. These figures matter for Argentina because payload at altitude or high temperature is constrained by available power well before a helicopter reaches its structural gross weight limit.

The 9,000 lb hook changes what a single Argentine Army helicopter can move. An M1036 HMMWV leaves only 250 lb below the rated hook limit, while an M119 105 mm howitzer, 30 rounds, and its four-person crew can be moved in one lift when aircraft weight and atmospheric conditions permit. Each UH-60L carries 11 combat-equipped troops, representing 44 seats across four aircraft, while internal cargo capacity is about 2,640 lb (1,197 kg). Sling loads in the 8,000 to 9,000 lb class restrict maximum airspeed to 120 kt, compared with 120 to 145 kt at normal cruise and 156 kt at maximum continuous airspeed. The arithmetic fleet maximum of 16.3 tonnes of external cargo therefore assumes four simultaneously serviceable helicopters, four loads within individual hook limits, and environmental conditions allowing each aircraft to lift 4,082 kg. A single unavailable helicopter immediately and logically removes 4,082 kg of rated hook capacity and 11 troop seats from that calculation.

The UH-60L also carries 361.5 to 362 U.S. gal (1,369 to 1,370 L) of fuel internally. At the Army planning consumption figure of 150 gal/h, dividing usable capacity by consumption produces 2.4 hours before start, taxi, reserves, and mission-specific fuel requirements are deducted; historical reference figures include a 2.3 hours endurance and a 242 nmi (448 km) range. The helicopter measures 19.76 m overall, uses a 16.36-m main rotor and reaches 5.13 m at the tail, while its cabin floor measures 1.83 × 3.84 m and its sliding doors 1.73 × 1.36 m. Its External Stores Support System provides four stations and has supported combinations of 230-, 450-, and later 200-gal external tanks. Argentina instead specifically requested internal auxiliary fuel systems, allowing additional fuel to be carried without using those four external stations. This matters on a four-aircraft fleet because changing between long-range, cargo, firefighting, and insertion configurations consumes aircraft preparation time and directly affects how many helicopters remain available for other tasks.

Argentina is also acquiring the L-model after the end of its original production cycle. The first UH-60L was delivered in 1989, production continued through 2007, and the U.S. Army subsequently shifted to the UH-60M with T700-GE-701D engines, wide-chord rotor blades, digital avionics and a glass cockpit. The U.S. Army also created the UH-60V program to rebuild L-models with digital cockpits, initially planning 760 conversions. Argentina is instead combining refurbished L-model airframes with -701D propulsion and a mission-equipment package, so aircraft age alone will not define their usable life. The decisive variables will be each airframe's accumulated hours and cycles, corrosion condition, remaining component lives, and overhaul standard. Four aircraft nevertheless remain a small force relative to Argentine Army Aviation's existing helicopter inventory. Its UH-1H/Huey II fleet includes 46 helicopters acquired in successive batches since 1967 and life-extended through the Huey II/Hornero program, meaning four UH-60Ls equal 8.7% of that figure numerically.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.