Originally Posted by
SASless
Blackhawks? Would be my guess.
Hand me downs from the US Army would be best bang for the buck.
SASless,
IIRC there is an S-70 line (Blackhawk) in Poland. Not sure if that fits what Puma replacers want/need.
Sikorsky has produced the UH-60M for a few years now(10?) and I hear that there is a back fit to make some UH-60's into a V model (more digitized cockpit, not sure what else) in the works. As I read this thread, what people are looking at is a later generation of tech than S-70/Blackhawk, just as the US Army is looking at things like Defiant or Valor. Blackhawks a fine machine, but I don't think "refurbished UH-60's" is going to meet a requirement five years hence. (On the other hand, C-130's been around forever, so maybe Blackhawk will be around forever ...)