By Doug Cameron
The U.S. announced plans Monday to sell Mexico as many as 18
Black Hawk helicopters in a $680 million deal aimed at bolstering
efforts to combat drug trafficking.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, part of the
Department of Defense, disclosed the potential deal--structured as
a government-to-government foreign military sale--involving 18
UH-60M Black Hawks, which are made by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., in a
posting on its website Monday. With engines made by a unit of
General Electric Co., the agency said spare parts, training and
other expenses take the potential contract value to $680
million.
In its efforts to tackle the drug trade, Mexico has acquired
maritime patrol aircraft, smaller helicopters, unmanned aerial
vehicles and other equipment. Its military budget has tripled over
the past decade to 100 billion Mexican pesos (about $7.68 billion)
last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute, a think tank.
The country has already taken six Black Hawks under the
U.S.-funded Mérida Initiative targeting the drug trade, with three
going to each the federal police and the navy. One of the police
helicopters crashed during a supply mission last year.
Sikorsky is a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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