Slovak Air Force Received Two New UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters

The Slovak Air Force has expanded its fleet with two new UH-60M Black Hawk multi-role helicopters.

This was reported by the Slovak publication Future Army.

The helicopters, with tail numbers 7469 and 7470, arrived at the Kuchyna Air Base on August 25. They were subsequently flown to Prešov, where they were assigned to the 51st Helicopter Wing.

The newly received helicopters differ from the UH-60Ms previously delivered to Slovakia in that they feature a special fairing on the nose.

Typically, a gyro-stabilized FLIR turret from Talon — equipped with day and night cameras, a laser rangefinder, and a target designator — is mounted under this fairing; this turret is already in use on Black Hawks in Lithuania and Latvia.

The procurement of the aircraft began in 2015 with the signing of a $261 million contract through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program for the delivery of nine UH-60Ms.

Slovakia received the first helicopters under this agreement in 2017, and the final deliveries of the first batch were completed by the end of 2020.

With the delivery of these two new helicopters, the total number of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in the Slovak Air Force has increased to 11.

Earlier, in December 2024, the United States offered Slovakia the choice between AH-1Z Viper helicopters and additional UH-60 Black Hawks.

The cost of the offer for 12 modernized Black Hawks is approximately €150 million. A similar number of AH-1Z Viper helicopters would cost approximately €550 million.

Subsequently, the Slovak Minister of Defense announced that it would be more cost-effective for the country to purchase used UH-60 Black Hawk multi-purpose helicopters.

In 2021, the Slovak Ministry of Defense sent UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, delivered as part of the first batch, to participate in Ukraine’s Independence Day parade.