Breaking Defense
• Jennifer Petersen
Lockheed Martin says its Armed Black Hawk kits can convert UH-60M and S-70i helicopters into armed attack platforms in less than three hours, offering operators a rapid path to add offensive capability to existing rotary-wing fleets without replacing the underlying aircraft.
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Lockheed Martin says its Armed Black Hawk kits can convert UH-60M and S-70i helicopters into armed attack platforms in less than three hours, offering operators a rapid path to add offensive capability to existing rotary-wing fleets without replacing the underlying aircraft.
Japan is expanding its first overseas military firefighting mission by splitting its Chinook fleet between the landing ship JS Kunisaki and a port in Indonesia. The deployment will support firefighting operations off Kalimantan while extending Japan’s regional disaster-response footprint.
Aero Asset reports increased sales activity for heavy twin-engine helicopters, with pricing reaching its highest level in five years during the first half. The data points to stronger transaction momentum and firmer values in a specialized segment of the helicopter market.
High activity
An NBC Los Angeles NewsChopper 4 Eurocopter AS350 B2 crashed in Chatsworth while covering an earlier fatal bus collision, killing an aerial journalist, the pilot and a person on the ground. Two other people were hospitalized after the helicopter descended onto a commercial property.
A new congressional report says the United States lost four F-15Es, seven KC-135 tankers and as many as 30 MQ-9 drones during the Iran war. Helicopters for casualty evacuation were deployed from four countries, while hundreds of military facilities were destroyed, underscoring the conflict’s operational demands.
Airbus has appointed Nicolas Boltoukhine, an experienced corporate aviation executive and pilot, to lead Airbus Corporate Helicopters. He succeeds Frederic Lemos, who is departing after serving as the unit’s CEO since 2017.
Avincis plans to acquire five Bell 214ST medium-twin helicopters from Australian type certificate holder McDermott Aviation, expanding the aerial services provider’s firefighting fleet. The deal adds additional heavy-lift rotorcraft capacity for wildfire response operations.
Poland is pursuing additional defense cooperation with the Philippines after completing deliveries of Black Hawk helicopters to Manila last month, according to a senior Polish foreign ministry official. The effort signals Warsaw’s interest in expanding bilateral defense ties beyond the recently completed helicopter program.
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