Malaysian Army leases Black Hawk helicopters
US Army Black Hawk helicopters train in Malaysia during a bilateral Exercise Keris Strike. (Photo: USARPAC)
Malaysia is leasing a quartet of Black Hawks, giving the army its first taste of operating the American-built helicopter.
The Malaysian Army is reviving its tactical helicopter capability by signing an MYR187 million ($40.84 million) contract with domestic company Aerotree Defence and Services at LIMA 2023.
The 25 May deal will see four UH-60A+ Black Hawks leased for five years.
The Malaysian Army Air Corps’ 882 Regiment previously operated S-61A helicopters transferred from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Twelve S-61As were to have been acquired, but the transfer was still ongoing when a fleet-wide grounding was issued following an emergency landing by an RMAF S-61 in August 2019.
The RMAF then announced in January 2020 that it would phase
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