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On the Lithuanian side, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Defense, who is currently on a visit to Washington, and on the US side, the Acting Minister of Defense, Christopher Miller.
Along with the new aircraft that will replace the Soviet-made Mi-8 helicopters in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuania will receive spare parts, additional equipment, as well as a package of training, repair and logistics services.
In five years, Lithuania will have to pay 213 million dollars (181 million euros) for it. The US government has financially supported the purchase with 30 million dollars (approximately 26 million euros).
Lithuania could receive the first helicopters at the end of 2024.
Lithuania first announced plans to buy Black Hawk helicopters from the United States a year ago. Initially, it was planned to buy six aircraft, but during the negotiations it was decided to buy four. Lithuania will be able to purchase two more helicopters in the future.
The Mi-8 helicopters currently in use by the Lithuanian Armed Forces have been in service for the fourth decade, are severely worn out and are expensive and complicated to operate – they are often damaged, but repairs are complicated by the complicated delivery of spare parts from Russia.
According to Lieutenant General Valdemārs Rupšis, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the new aircraft will allow to provide infantry support from the air, relocate small units, they can also be used for medical evacuation, civilian search and rescue operations, emergency donor transportation, wildfire and other tasks.
The Ministry of Defense, for its part, emphasized that the helicopter platform of the same manufacturer had been purchased by the armed forces of about thirty countries around the world, including Latvia, Denmark, Poland and Sweden, so Lithuania will help Lithuania to better cooperate with strategic and regional partners.
In 2018, Latvia signed an intergovernmental agreement with the United States on the purchase of four new helicopters UH-60M “Black Hawk” for the National Armed Forces.
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