The Indonesian Defense Ministry announced a deal to purchase 24 S-70M Black Hawk helicopters manufactured by Stratford-headquartered Sikorsky Aircraft.
Reuters reported that Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s defense minister, said the purchase will “increase the strength of Indonesia’s military.” The financial aspects of the purchase and the expected delivery date of the aircraft were not disclosed. The Indonesian government is acquiring the helicopters from Sikorsky”™s parent company, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT).
The purchase of the S-70M aircraft is the latest transaction for Indonesia”™s military, which also signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 24 F-15 Eagle fighter jets from Boeing (NYSE:BA) ”“ that deal is subject to U.S. Department of Defense approval. The country previously acquired 12 new drones worth $300 million earlier this month from Turkish Aerospace and 12 used Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from Dassault Aviation for $800 million earlier this year.
The upgrading of Indonesia”™s air defenses comes at a time of increased Pacific Rim tensions between the U.S. and China. Indonesia”™s airspace encompasses roughly 18,000 islands.
