Argentina’s Ministry of Defense has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the United States for four UH-60L Black Hawk medium helicopters for the Argentine Army, with the first aircraft due before the end of 2026. The ministry said technical work by its commissions in the United States brought the cost of the first four aircraft to about USD 28 million, including spare parts and supplies.

The ministry announced the signing on November 6, 2026, and described the helicopters as the initial core of a new tactical mobility capability for the Army, within a comprehensive re-equipment and modernization plan. The purchase runs through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system under the Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Transaction (BEST) program, the route the US Army uses to sell older Black Hawks and reinvest the proceeds in new aircraft.

Signing, training and configuration

The LOA was signed in the Salón Islas Malvinas of the Edificio Libertador by Defense Minister Teniente General Carlos Alberto Presti, US Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas, Army Chief of General Staff Oscar Santiago Zarich and Army Aviation Director Coronel Mayor Sergio Esteban Di Clemente, according to the ministry. Presti first identified the need when he led the IV Brigada Aerotransportada in Córdoba in 2023, and again as head of the Army’s General Staff in 2024, the ministry said.

Before the signing, Argentine delegations traveled to Colombia, which the ministry describes as a regional operator with extensive Black Hawk experience, to begin training technical staff and crews.

According to the ministry, the helicopters have two T700-GE-701D engines and digital avionics for redundancy, a top speed close to 280 km/h (about 151 knots) depending on load and flight conditions, and room for about 11 fully equipped personnel. They are configured for Argentina with a Garmin GTN 750, attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS) and multiband HF, VHF and UHF communications. For missions, they support insertion and search and rescue, are fitted for the fast rope insertion/extraction system (FRIES), carry an external cargo hook and can operate with a Bambi Bucket for forest firefighting.

What the US notification covers

The US Department of State approved the possible sale on September 10, 2026, in a congressional notification (Transmittal 26-79) with an estimated total cost of $140 million. The notification lists four UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and two T700-GE-701D engines, plus attitude heading reference systems, APX-100 and APX-123 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders, an AN/ARC-220 high-frequency radio, a Cobham C-5000 multiband radio, the Garmin GTN-750, a rescue hoist, a cargo hook and a Bambi bucket, along with training devices, spare and repair parts, technical data and US Government and contractor support.

The two documents carry different figures: $140 million in the US notification, which covers equipment, training and support beyond the aircraft, and about USD 28 million in the Argentine announcement for the first four aircraft with spare parts and supplies. The ministry attributes its figure to the technical work of its commissions in the United States.

The State Department said the sale would add capacity for border security, counter-transnational crime, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and described Argentina as “a major non-NATO Ally.” It named Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company based in Stratford, Connecticut, as principal contractor and said implementation would not require additional US Government or contractor representatives in Argentina. By comparison, the notification for Norway’s 21 UH-60M Black Hawks, published on August 21, 2026, carried an estimated $2.3 billion cost and called for about 15 US Government and 15 contractor representatives to travel to Norway.

How the BEST program supplies and funds Black Hawks

In a July 25, 2024, article, the US Army said BEST lets it sell used and outdated equipment and use the proceeds to buy new equipment, with old, heavily used equipment about 17 to 25 years old put up for auction. The Army said it had auctioned more than 600 flightworthy aircraft through the program to the federal government, civilian buyers and other entities. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Theresa Perry of Fort Indiantown Gap’s Army Aviation Support Facility #1 said in the same article that UH-60 A and L models are being replaced with M and V models.

An earlier Army article, from May 23, 2018, said the H-60A and L models are out of production but widely used by civilian contractors, federal and state agencies and international customers. It reported that 271 H-60 Black Hawks had been divested since BEST began in 2014, producing $230 million in revenue. Gerald Dwyer, the Army Aviation Exchange/Sale Program representative, said the program lets other government bodies, commercial firms and foreign governments acquire used, flyable aircraft quickly and at an affordable cost.

That revenue now feeds new production. Lockheed Martin said on September 30, 2026, that funding for the first 16 aircraft under the Army’s new Black Hawk production agreement comes from appropriations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 plus BEST revenue. The company said more than 5,000 Black Hawks have been delivered to more than 36 allied nations.

Regional operators and next steps

In an April 3, 2018, release, Sikorsky described Colombia as the region’s largest Black Hawk fleet operator and said the Colombian Army, Air Force and National Police had acquired 103 Black Hawks since 1988. In the same release, Sikorsky said it was opening its Colombia-based depot maintenance and pilot training facilities to other Latin American operators, naming Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. It put the region’s Black Hawk fleet at 180 aircraft at the time, up from 120 a decade earlier.

For Argentina, the ministry said the first of the four UH-60Ls will arrive before the end of 2026. It presented the purchase as a step-by-step path toward a multi-purpose platform for military, rescue and emergency response, with the four aircraft forming the initial core of a capability meant to grow.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has been selected to deliver the S-92A+, the newest variant of its S-92 helicopter, to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) for the service’s Presidential Helicopter II program. Lockheed Martin announced the selection on November 6, 2026, without disclosing the number of aircraft, the contract value or a delivery schedule.

The selection keeps the S-92 family in a role it already fills in South Korea. The ROKAF took delivery of three S-92 helicopters in 2007 and has relied on them for nearly two decades of presidential transport, according to the Lockheed Martin press release. Korea Aviation Engineering & Maintenance Service (KAEMS), a subsidiary of Korea Aerospace Industries, will complete the mission equipment in South Korea.

What the contract covers

Beyond the helicopters themselves, the contract covers additional special mission equipment and sustainment support, including critical spare parts and field service representation, according to Lockheed Martin. The release does not say how many S-92A+ aircraft the ROKAF will receive.

Wonik Lee, South Korea country executive for Lockheed Martin, said: “We are deeply honored that the S-92A+ has been selected as the Republic of Korea’s presidential helicopter.” He said he was confident the aircraft would continue “supporting this critical mission with the highest standards of safety and reliability,” pointing to the platform’s shared presidential transport heritage in South Korea, the United States and other nations. Lee said the milestone reflects Lockheed Martin’s “longstanding commitment to the ROK-U.S. alliance.”

What the S-92A+ adds

The S-92A+ adds upgraded engines, a new Phase IV main gearbox and increased payload or fuel capacity, according to the release. Sikorsky gave more detail on the configuration in March 2026, when it said it was standardizing all production aircraft on the S-92A+, each with the Phase IV main gearbox and upgraded engines.

In that March release, Sikorsky said the Phase IV gearbox has a minimum operating lifecycle of more than 6,000 flight hours, with longer intervals between overhauls, and auxiliary lubrication that lets the helicopter complete a flight safely even if primary oil pressure is lost. At the time, the gearbox was in its final 200 hours of endurance testing. Increased shaft horsepower from the GE CT7-8A6 engines maintains power across a wider range of temperatures in hot and high-altitude conditions, and the added engine power and airframe strengthening raise maximum gross weight to 27,700 pounds, which Sikorsky said provides an additional 1,200 pounds of payload or fuel. AirPro News has previously reported on the Phase IV gearbox’s safety features.

The configuration began as an upgrade kit. In April 2020, Sikorsky signed Canada’s VIH Aviation Group as the first S-92A+ kit customer, for four kits. At that point, Sikorsky said full-scale testing had shown the gearbox could provide return-to-base capability over more than 400 nautical miles if primary lubrication oil pressure was lost. The S-92A+ capability remains available as a retrofit kit for any S-92A, with an option for upgraded engines, according to the March 2026 release.

Production in Stratford and Owego

Sikorsky is ramping up S-92A+ production in Stratford, Connecticut, and Owego, New York, with capacity to produce up to 12 aircraft a year, according to the November 6 release. In March 2026, when Sikorsky announced that it was preparing its first S-92A+ production batch, it said the aircraft were for a new head-of-state transport customer and anticipated orders from head-of-state and offshore-energy customers.

That March release said a 14th country had ordered two aircraft for head-of-state transport, and that Sikorsky would assemble those two plus three additional S-92A+ aircraft. Stratford will produce S-92 dynamic components, including the main gearbox, blades and drivetrains, while the Owego workforce has delivered 23 new U.S. presidential helicopters based on the S-92A platform. Sikorsky also delivered two S-92A aircraft to head-of-state customers in Asia and the Middle East in 2025, according to the same release.

The S-92 in South Korea and worldwide

Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky’s partnership with South Korea spans more than 70 years and includes the Black Hawk, Seahawk and S-92 programs, according to the company. Beyond presidential transport, S-92 helicopters have supported Korea Coast Guard search and rescue, as well as firefighting and lifesaving missions for the National 119 Rescue Headquarters, part of the National Fire Agency.

Worldwide, Lockheed Martin said the S-92 fleet has logged more than 2.6 million flight hours, with an average lifetime availability rate of more than 90%, and that more than 300 aircraft have been delivered across 28 countries. The type supports head-of-state and VIP transport, offshore energy and search and rescue missions, and is the foundation for the U.S. Marine Corps’ VH-92A Patriot presidential helicopter, which continues Sikorsky’s record of transporting every U.S. president since 1957.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Ilyushin IL-76MD has landed at Nyoma airfield in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of 13,629 feet, which the IAF describes as the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the aircraft anywhere in the world.

The IAF announced the landing in a post on its official X account, @IAF_MCC, on November 7, 2026. It described the landing as a milestone that reinforces India’s strategic airlift capability. The post did not give the date of the landing.

What the IAF said

The post opened with the line “13,629 FEET. A NEW HEIGHT IN AVIATION HISTORY.” It said the IL-76MD had “scripted history with a successful landing at Nyoma,” and credited the aircraft and the people who flew it:

“A remarkable demonstration of the aircraft’s enduring capability, backed by the exceptional skill, precision, and professionalism of its crew.”

The record is the IAF’s own claim, made in the post. The IAF did not publish the previous highest landing altitude for the type.

The Nyoma airfield project

On September 12, 2023, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually laid the foundation stone for the Nyoma airfield, according to a Press Information Bureau release from the ministry. The ministry put the cost at approximately Rs 200 crore and said the airfield would be one of the world’s highest.

The ministry said the airfield would boost air infrastructure in Ladakh and augment the IAF’s capability along the Northern border. The foundation stone was laid during an event at which Singh dedicated to the nation 90 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) infrastructure projects, built at a cost of over Rs 2,900 crore across 11 States and Union Territories.

By the end of that year, the ministry’s Year End Review 2023, released on December 22, 2023, reported: “The development works on the recently allotted Nyoma Airfield at Eastern Ladakh have commenced.”

Earlier high-altitude transport landings

AirPro News has covered earlier high-altitude transport operations by the IAF, including the IAF’s C-17 landing at Kargil: on March 6, 2025, an IAF C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft landed at the high-altitude Kargil airstrip.

The IAF has not published further details of the Nyoma flight, such as the aircraft’s serial number, the crew or the load carried.