The first Black Hawks are here!

At 08:50 this morning a C17 of the US Air Force landed at Malmen Helicopter Base in Linköping. It carried a precious load - the very first two UH-60M Black Hawks for the Swedish Armed Forces Helicopter Wing.

The helicopters were unloaded and placed in a hangar at the airport. They will now be engaged in various flight tests, which will be administered by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) prior to the hand-over ceremony on 17 January. The trials will start on Monday and they are going to be supported by pilots and technicians from the Helicopter Wing.

The FMV is procuring 15 UH-60M (HKP 16) aircraft via the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program. The planned build schedule will enable the Swedish Armed Forces to deploy three HKP 16 aircraft to Afghanistan in April 2013. The Swedish Armed Forces will use the aircraft for medical evacuation, utility, and search and rescue missions.