The Brazilian air force (FAB) is to significantly expand its inventory of Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk utility helicopters, via a late-November deal signed with US company Ace Aeronautics.
Valued at $229 million, the contract will see Ace acquire 11 ex-US Army Black Hawks, with these assets and 13 of the FAB’s already operational examples to undergo extensive avionics modernisation.
Under the deal, the company will “design, integrate and certify a variant of the Garmin G5000H integrated flight deck, replacing legacy cockpit systems with a modern, fully digital avionics suite”, it says. The contractor also will incorporate additional customer-specific mission equipment, and deliver training for pilots and maintainers.
Ace says the contract duration spans six-and-a-half years, and that “advanced avionics, enhanced mission capability and full-spectrum sustainment services” will keep its customer’s UH-60Ls “flying safely and effectively for decades to come”.
Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice-president of aviation sales, marketing, programmes and support, says the G500H suite’s integration will result in a “significant reduction in pilot workload and improved levels of situational awareness”.
The Black Hawk installation includes four 12in-diameter multi-function cockpit displays and four touchscreen controllers, along with updates to communication, navigation and air traffic management equipment.
“This programme represents a strategic and significant leap in flight safety and obsolescence management,” says Major Guilherme de Sanctis, the FAB’s UH-60L modernisation team leader.
“By expanding and standardising the entire fleet we are ensuring operational excellence and providing our pilots with vastly improved situational awareness and mission execution capabilities,” he adds.
Data sourced from aviation analytics company Cirium and used in FlightGlobal’s 2026 World Air Forces directory shows that the FAB currently operates 16 Black Hawks, with those airframes aged between 13 and 19 years.
