TSAMTO, February 8. The Croatian Defense Ministry announced a welcoming ceremony on February 3 in the presence of Defense Minister Mario Banojic for two UH-60M "Black Hawk" multipurpose helicopters transferred to the United States.
The helicopters were delivered to the airport. Franjo Tujman (Zagreb) with a C-17 "Globemaster-3" aircraft of the US Air Force.
As the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Admiral Robert Gran, stated, in the near future, a reception and transfer procedure should be carried out, during which American specialists will transfer helicopters to the Croatian side. Over the next few weeks, the helicopters will be ready to fly, and in the next two to three months they will reach initial readiness for combat use. It is assumed that by the end of the year the helicopters will be fully operational. As noted, the Croatian Air Force has a sufficient number of trained pilots and technicians for their use and support.
The received multi-purpose helicopters will be used mainly to support the actions of special operations forces. In addition to the main task, they can be used to transport troops and cargo, as well as to extinguish large forest fires, search and rescue operations, and provide medical assistance.
The received UH-60M are part of a project to purchase a total of four helicopters in the United States. The program is funded by the Croatian Ministry of Defense, as well as gratuitous assistance from the US government.
As reported by TSAMTO, in December 2019, the Croatian government announced the approval of the purchase of four UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment. To support the acquisition, which is being carried out in partnership with the United States, the Croatian Cabinet of Ministers has agreed to allocate the necessary funds from the budget in the period 2021-2026. The total cost of the project was 1.167 billion. kun (175 million dollars / 157 million euros). Of this amount, 360.64 million kuna were allocated by the United States as part of assistance programs, and the remaining 807.23 million kuna will be allocated from the Croatian state budget. The Government said the aid would cover the cost of purchasing two of the four helicopters with the appropriate equipment and spare parts.
On October 30, 2019, the US State Department approved the delivery of two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment to Croatia in the framework of the Foreign Military Sales program for up to $115 million.
