Slovak Defense Minister Advocates Purchasing UH-60 Black Hawk Instead of AH-1Z Viper

The Slovak Defense Minister believes that it is more expedient for the country to purchase used UH-60 Black Hawk multi-purpose helicopters than new AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.

This is reported by the local publication Spravy Pravda.

According to Minister Robert Kaliniak, the purchase of 12 used Black Hawks will cost much less, and they can perform tasks not only in the interests of the military.

It is detailed that we are talking about UH-60L helicopters that were decommissioned from the US Army, purchased by the private company Ace Aeronautics, and modernized for further resale. The cost of the aircraft offered to Slovakia is estimated at 150 million euros.

If the country's government agrees to the purchase, the total Black Hawk fleet will be brought to 21 aircraft.

At the same time, the US Department of Defense is offering Slovakia 12 new AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, which were intended for Pakistan, but were frozen by Congress.

The AH-1Z is offered with 26 engines, 1,680 APKWS missiles, 14 Honeywell navigation systems and other equipment with a total cost of 554 million euros.

However, according to Kaliniak, the offer for attack helicopters is unprofitable. According to him, even with the purchase of additional weapons and equipment for the UH-60 Black Hawk, the country will spend less money than on the purchase of the AH-1Z Viper.

The country's Minister of Defense believes that the Black Hawk should be armed with on-board small arms and Hellfire missiles.

The possible purchase of the UH-60 was criticized by the opposition and former Minister of Defense Yaroslav Nady, who stated that the Black Hawk would still require significant investments and would last less than the Viper.

Recently, «Military» reported that the Slovak Ministry of Defense has chosen a new military transport aircraft, which is the C-390.

As noted in the Ministry, a letter of intent was signed on December 10, 2024, under which Slovakia will purchase three C-390 military transport aircraft from Embraer.