Reception of First MH-60M Black Hawk Multirole Helicopters

With Minister of National Defense Alberto Espina Otero attending, accompanied by the Commander in Chief of the Air Force of Chile, General Jorge Robles Mella, the official reception of the first three MH-60M Black Hawk medium haul helicopters took place on Thursday, August 30 at the Pudahuel Air Base in Santiago.

These helicopters will allow the Air Force to continue enhancing the versatility of its equipment, contributing directly to the support of the population and the fulfillment of its defense mission.

Also attended this ceremony, in addition to the members of the High Command and civil and military authorities, the President of the Sikorsky company, Dan Schultz, and special guests.

Dan Schultz said that the new aircraft acquired by the Chilean Air Force "are a third-generation model built according to the strict standards of the United States Army and are descended from the first-generation model we built 40 years ago".

Later, he added that "the founder of our company, Igor Sikorsky, pointed out at the time that he expected the helicopter to be" a unique instrument to save human lives ". His vision came true, because in the last 75 years millions of lives have been saved thanks to helicopters," he concluded.

For his part, Minister Alberto Espina Otero pointed out that helicopters, "since joining the Air Force in the 1950s, have been a fundamental resource for Chileans. Since then, they have operated on national territory, mainly supporting populations affected by the adversities of nature. It has become an essential capability for search and rescue operations, which are so repetitive in our country."

Minister Espina concluded by congratulating the "Air Force for the work done and at the same time wished the best successes in the operational development of this aircraft and in the fulfillment of its mission, which will guarantee the security and defense for Chile. and the Chileans "

General Robles added that "the Chilean Air Force is above all and primarily a public service institution. Hence, we are firmly committed to the ideal of serving and protecting. We believe that the new transport capability thanks to the MH-60M helicopters that we receive today, will constitute a powerful factor allowing to optimize and facilitate that multi-purpose contribution of service that our Air Force does, to the effort of Chile to reach its objectives of sovereignty, prosperity, security, territorial integrity and international projection."