Thailand to procure 9 refurbished UH-60A Blackhawk general purpose helicopters

 

A UH-60 Blackhawk of the RTA. Photo c/o AAG Thai Defense Page.

The Royal Thai Army (RTA) plans to procure additional refurbished UH-60A Blackhawk general purpose helicopters, including related equipment and the construction of 2 aircraft hangars.

The RTA’s Transportation Department has posted a notice on its website regarding the planned procurement under the General Purpose Helicopter Procurement Project Phase 2, with a budget of THB3,179,999,999.16 (US$93.3 million).

The RTA’s Army Aviation Center based on Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Camp at Lotburi province will be operating these helicopters, which already operate different variants of the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

These includes 9 UH-60L and 3 UH-60M that were procured brand new from Sikorsky Helicopters, and 3 refurbished UH-60A helicopters that were declared Excess Defense Articles (EDA) and were formerly with the US Army before undergoing refurbishing.

The 3 current refurbished UH-60A helicopters were delivered to the RTA in 2020.

The  additional helicopters for procurement are needed to replace older helicopters that have been retired from service, particularly the Bell UH-1H Huey helicopters.

It is expected that the helicopters will also be coming from US EDA stocks, rehabilitated and refurbished to suit RTA requirements.




[1] Royal Thai Army 
[2] AAG Thai Defense Page