A photo posted on social media by the Ukrainian military intelligence services (GUR) is causing a stir around the world. In a hangar, Ukrainian soldiers pose in front of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter decorated with blue and yellow flags. This device built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, is intended for troop transport and is not part of any list of military equipment supplied by the United States to Ukraine.
The photo prompted defense specialists or aeronautics experts to investigate how kyiv had obtained it. It is painted, not in the colors of the US Army, but in those of Ace Aeronautics, a Guntersville, Alabama-based company specializing in preparing and upgrading military aircraft.
A device refurbished by an Alabama company
Another detail gives very precise information about its origin. The place air and cosmos managed to trace the trace of this aircraft thanks to its registration (N60FW) and its serial number (n°80-23439) which are registered by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) with the current owner Ace Aeronautics.
This Black Hawk first belonged to the US Army before being purchased in 2015 by Ace who restored it. It was then displayed numerous times at Heli-Expo, an air show held annually in Atlanta. The next edition should take place at the beginning of March.
Images can be found on the Helis.com site. They were taken during the 2017 edition of the Atlanta show. We can still see it in a video uploaded to YouTube during the 2022 edition of the same show.
If the device has been identified, no one knows how the Ukrainian military acquired it and where the pilots were trained. Is it a gift or loan from Ace, a purchase from the Ukrainian Army, or was it acquired through a broker? In all cases, the transfer of US military equipment, and indeed equipped with US technologies, must obtain authorization from the authorities.
Source: BFM TV
