The US State Department said on Friday it had approved a potential sale of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Mexico for an estimated $1.08 billion — yaani about 108 crore US dollars — in a Foreign Military Sale that would expand Mexico's airlift for counter-drug operations.

Source: Reuters

The principal contractor for the sale is Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company based in Stratford, Connecticut, the State Department said.

Source: Reuters

The package covers far more than the aircraft: 27 T700-GE-701D engines, 27 EAGLE-M+429 navigation systems and 27 AN/ARC-231A radios, along with surveillance sensors, weapons, rescue equipment, fast-rope gear, airframe-mounted rescue hoists, engine inlet barrier filters, internal auxiliary fuel tanks, training and logistical support, according to the detailed sale notification reporting.

Source: DSCA-based reporting via Wisevoter

Built for the counter-drug fight

Washington says the equipment will expand the air transport capabilities of Mexican forces engaged in operations against drug-trafficking organisations, and that the sale supports US national security objectives and bilateral cooperation with Mexico. The congressional notification did not specify which Mexican government agency requested the helicopters, according to reporting on the announcement.

Source: Sonora Presente (State Department notification)

The Black Hawk is the US military's standard utility helicopter, used for troop transport, medical evacuation and rescue missions. Mexico has flown Black Hawks since the 1990s, and the United States previously approved a possible sale of 18 UH-60M helicopters to Mexico in April 2014, then estimated at $680 million.

Source: DSCA-based reporting via Wisevoter

What happens next is procedural: the deal moves through congressional review and final negotiations between Washington, Mexico and Sikorsky. Only a concluded contract will fix how many helicopters Mexico actually receives, at what price, and when.