Argentina Cleared to Buy Four UH-60L Black Hawks to Start Replacing Army Hueys

The US Department of State on September 10, 2026 approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Argentina of four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and two T700-GE-701D engines, at an estimated total cost of $140 million. The congressional notification, Transmittal 26-79, names Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company based in Stratford, Connecticut, as the principal contractor.

Beyond the four airframes and the two spare engines, the notified package covers a set of mission and communications equipment: attitude heading reference systems, APX-100 and APX-123 identification friend-or-foe transponders, AN/ARC-220 HF and ARC-186 VHF radios, Garmin GTN-750 GPS units and Cobham C-5000 multiband radios. It also includes internal auxiliary fuel tanks, a fast rope insertion and extraction system, rescue hoists, a cargo hook and a Bambi bucket for firefighting, together with maintenance and aircrew training devices, spares, support, training and logistics.

The State Department said the sale would support border security, efforts against transnational crime, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and that it "will not alter the basic military balance in the region." The notification describes Argentina as a major non-NATO ally. According to Army Recognition, no missiles, rockets or offensive weapons are included.

The Defense Post reported that the package is projected to go to the Argentine Army, which in 2024 announced an effort to replace its aging Bell UH-1H and Huey II fleet. Army Recognition reported that the helicopters would establish the army's first Black Hawk unit, and that Argentina's defense minister confirmed in June that the country was negotiating for four UH-60Ls, initially seeking two delivered before the end of 2026. A December 2024 Argentine tender had sought three used S-70/UH-60 helicopters, the outlet added.

Several points remain open. Air Data News noted that an FMS approval is not a completed contract and that the final value could be lower than the notified estimate. The UH-60L is an earlier Black Hawk generation than the UH-60M now in production, introduced in the late 1980s with a largely analog cockpit, and the notification does not identify the origin, serial numbers or previous operators of the four helicopters. The same outlet reported that local coverage describes a longer-term requirement that could eventually reach 20 aircraft. Argentina already has one member of the Black Hawk family, a single S-70A-30 acquired in 1994 for the presidential fleet and transferred to the Argentine Air Force in 2024, according to Air Data News.

GlobalMilitary.net's Argentine air and army aviation inventory for 2026 records 50 UH-1H helicopters in service with the army, alongside 15 Bell 206 light helicopters; three Bell 407GXi are on order. The Argentine Air Force's rotary fleet in the same data comprises 13 Bell 212 and 412 helicopters and one Bell 407GXi, with two more 407GXi on order. Its combat fleet lists six F-16 Fighting Falcons in service and 18 on order. Argentina ranks 52nd in GlobalMilitary.net's ATLAS Index of military power.

The notification is the first public step in the process rather than its conclusion: a contract still has to be negotiated with the US government before any delivery schedule is set.