The Directorate of Intelligence printed the photographs on-line exhibiting the unannounced supply of the US-made helicopter.

After receiving the former British Sea King helicopters, it seems that Ukraine has now fielded one other western helicopter: the US-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Actually, the Directorate printed on its Twitter account two photographs exhibiting the helicopter in a hangar on February 21, 2023. In keeping with the caption, the helicopter is already flying in operational missions.

This supply comes unannounced, because the UH-60 Black Hawk was not included in any of the help packages and its provide to the Armed Forces of Ukraine was not talked about by officers. It isn’t identified the place the helicopters had been sourced. Final yr, america stated they might switch to Ukraine the helicopters that previously belonged to the Afghan authorities, however solely explicitly talked about the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters and never the UH-60.

pic.twitter.com/M3zBzYteZM

— Defence intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) February 21, 2023

Nonetheless, Defence Blog was fast to note that the Black Hawk, along with the Ukrainian flags and roundels, wears a peculiar livery. This livery was noticed previously on helicopters of the US agency Ace Aeronautics, which makes a speciality of changing older Black Hawk helicopters divested by the U.S. Military for the civilian market. Actually, civilian UH-60s at the moment are turning into a standard sight for aerial works, exterior sling load operations and firefighting.

A doable clarification can be that the US authorities purchased the helicopters again from Ace Aeronautics to expedite the deliveries, as they had been already “sanitized” and all delicate gear was changed by industrial techniques. From the photographs, the helicopter is in a primary configuration, with out further gear. Crew served weapons for the gunners, warning sensors and countermeasures additionally seem like lacking.

Stefano D’Urso is a contract journalist and contributor to TheAviationist primarily based in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he is additionally learning to attain a Grasp Diploma in Aerospace Engineering. Digital Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT strategies utilized to the world of navy operations and present conflicts are amongst his areas of experience.