On August 18, in Lockheed Martin Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o. the first flight of the S-70M Black Hawk multi-role search and rescue helicopter ordered by the Romanian Ministry of the Interior took place in Mielec.
The event was attended, among others, by representatives of the future user, personnel of the Department of Emergency Situations. Six helicopters were ordered in November 2021 – they are to be configured to carry out search and rescue operations in land and sea areas, as well as support firefighting operations, transport of casualties and personnel. In addition, the contract includes an option to extend the order by six additional helicopters – during the August visit to Mielec, talks were held to contract the seventh helicopter. According to the statement of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the relevant decisions are to be taken soon.
Romania is the second European country to purchase the S-70i Black Hawk multi-role helicopters. Currently, seven of them are operated by Poland (three in the Police and four in the GROM). Additionally, four additional ordered by the Armaments Agency (for the JW GROM) are to be delivered.
The deliveries of six Romanian S-70M Black Hawk are to be made in 2023 – the first pilots and members of the technical staff have already received training. Partners for Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o. are Romanian companies ROMAERO and DELTAMED. It cannot be ruled out that the number of Black Hawks in the Romanian services will increase even more, because in May this year the military unit 0929 announced the launch of a tender procedure for the procurement of six helicopters to support counter-terrorist operations.