The service has previously said that the next buy of the UH-60Ms will be its last, but Brig. Gen. David Phillips said he foresees the fleet operating in the Army through the 2040s and 50s.
The US has said previously that the UH-60 deal will "improve the Hellenic Army’s ability to deploy combat power to secure Greece’s borders, deter actions against its interests, and, when required, respond with credible force."
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.
"When the tough but necessary decision was made last year to expedite the withdrawal of the MRH-90s [Taipans] from service, it meant that we needed to look at all options when it came to filling the capability gap and the training which our servicemen and women need,” Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.
"The Army may be critically without sufficient replacement Black Hawks to transition away from the grounded Taipans," shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hastie said. That could, he said, mean the Australian Defense Force would "not have enough helicopters to perform missions, including training and exercises with international partners."
"This was a textbook response to a loss of power. The engine stopped, the crew were able to shut the engine down and to ditch the aircraft into Jervis Bay in a way where it was able to keep the aircraft upright.," Defense Minister Richard Marles said in an appearance at Parliament.
The decision to buy more Black Hawks was particularly interesting as the country is in the midst of a Defense Strategic Review assessing the full panoply of force structure and spending decisions.
Do more with less: streamline workflows, reduce duplication, invest upfront to save long-term.
Under a new contract awarded by DARPA, Northrop Grumman, in partnership with the University of Central Florida, will develop a prototype AI assistant embedded in augmented reality headsets for rotary pilots.
"The U.S. continues to systematically state its commitment to the defense of Saudi Arabia so I don't think arms transfers in general will completely stop," Yasmine Farouk, Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says.