On Sunday, the 11th of December, US air force C17 landed at Latvia’s air force base in Lielvarde. The transport aircraft delivered the first two of Latvia’s ordered UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, as confirmed by Latvia’s Ministry of Defence.
According to Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks, the two helicopters are a long-awaited aid to reinforce and bring Latvian air force to a new level. The Black Hawk helicopters are intended to replace the currently used Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters, whose resource is «already exhausted».
Man ir patiess prieks paziņot, ka šodien esam saņēmuši pirmos 2 Black Hawk helikopterus mūsu Bruņoto spēku vajadzībām! Sabiedroto ASV lidmašīna tos nogādājusi Latvijas armijas Lielvārdes aviācijas bāzē. pic.twitter.com/tZL7G5YLzy
— Artis Pabriks (@Pabriks) December 11, 2022
Both helicopters were delivered in a partially disassembled state. In the coming days technicians will be working on assembling them and ensuring they are ready for test flights.
In September 2018 Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the purchase of four Black Hawk helicopters for a price of EUR 175 million from USA, which provides co-financing of USD 15.5 million.
Delivery of the two remaining helicopters is planned before the end of 2023.
At the same time, the ministry reports that Latvian technicians and pilots have been training for Black Hawk operations since 2020.