US approves $140 million Black Hawk helicopter sale to Argentina

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $140 million sale of four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters to Argentina, a deal that would give the Argentine Army its first Black Hawks. The approval, notified to Congress on September 10, 2026, follows through on a purchase Argentine officials confirmed earlier this year.

The package includes the four helicopters, two spare T700-GE-701D engines, and a long list of supporting gear: identification and navigation systems, a rescue hoist, a fast-rope insertion and extraction system, an internal auxiliary fuel tank, training equipment and spare parts. Sikorsky, the Lockheed Martin subsidiary that builds the Black Hawk in Stratford, Connecticut, would serve as the main contractor. The approval covers a potential sale rather than a signed contract, and the final price could come in lower depending on exactly what Argentina orders.

The helicopters are meant to replace Argentina’s aging fleet of Bell UH-1H Hueys, roughly 50 of which remain the Army’s primary helicopter type. The Army first tried to buy three secondhand Black Hawks through a tender launched in December 2024, but canceled that process in January 2025 after budget cuts. In June 2026, Lt. Gen. Oscar Santiago Zarich, the Argentine Army’s chief of staff, said the service would move ahead with an initial order of four Black Hawks still in U.S. service, with officials describing plans to grow the fleet further over time.

Argentina isn’t entirely new to the aircraft. A single VIP-configured Black Hawk has served the country’s presidential fleet since 1994, though it was transferred to the Argentine Air Force in 2024. The Army itself has never operated the type.

The UH-60L is an earlier version of the Black Hawk than the UH-60M now built for the U.S. Army and most export customers. Sikorsky runs a separate modernization program that fits older UH-60Ls with a digital cockpit and updated avionics closer to UH-60M standards while keeping the original airframe, an option Argentina could pursue later if it wants to extend the helicopters’ service life.

The purchase fits a pattern of incremental, budget-constrained modernization across Argentina’s armed forces, which have also recently picked up secondhand F-16 fighters from Denmark and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Norway.

The State Department said the sale would not require additional U.S. government or contractor personnel in Argentina and that no offset agreement has been proposed so far. Argentina has not set a delivery timeline, and the sale still needs to move from this approval into a finalized contract.