US helicopter producer Sikorsky, controlled by the group Lockheed Martin, ponders producing S-70 Black Hawk helicopters in Romania, in Brasov or Craiova, if the army chooses this helicopter model to replace the old Puma helicopter fleet, representatives of the US group told News.ro.

Sikorsky has had several talks with Romanian officials in the last year and a half. The US group owns a factory in South-Eastern Poland, in Mielec. It is currently the only production unit outside the US. It has produced over 40 Black Hawk helicopters for customers such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, or South American countries.

Sikorsky is the second competitor of the French group Airbus Helicopters to equip the Romanian army with new multirole military helicopters to replace the old Puma helicopters. American group Bell Helicopter is also interested in assembling the AH-1Z Viper helicopter model in Romania in order to equip the army.

Airbus Helicopters has long been a favorite in the race with the H215 M model, as it has already built a new helicopter plant at Ghimbav, near Brasov, inaugurated in 2016.

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editor@romania-insider.com