The American manager of the Helicopter Alliance said that modernizing more than 20 Black Hawks per year is not a problem for us. This was created by the arms manufacturer Strnad.

phosphorusAbout three thousand Black Hawk helicopters fly around the world in various versions. They are of the UH-60 model, produced by the American manufacturer Sikorsky. It has been the backbone of the US helicopter force since the 1980s. Of course, the machines age and are replaced by more modern versions. But retired helicopters have a much longer service life and can still serve well after modernization. In the army, police and fire brigades. In addition, many countries in the world already have problems with the use of Russian helicopters.

Czech team bets on this CE Industrial Entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad therefore founded the Helicopter Alliance holding, which includes six Czech, Slovak and American companies that are responsible for modernizing the Black Hawk.

HN Recent UK Farnborough Air Show They interviewed Jonathan Castorena, an American hired by Helicopter Alliance to build its global business. According to him, the US Army retires at least 40 Black Hawks every year, mainly the UH-60L (Lima) version.

“We want to capture a large part of this market. We handle more than 20 orders a year without any problems,” Castorena, who has been the director of international trade and sales for the Helicopter Alliance since April, told HN in an interview.

This is my fourth visit here. But it is the first time for the Helicopter Alliance. Previously, I visited on behalf of Bell Helicopter, the American helicopter manufacturer.

How did you get involved with the Helicopter Alliance?

I have been working with helicopters for the past twenty years, working for Bell since I was 19. That is why I came to Prague, because in 2010 the company made a strategic decision to invest in the Czech Republic. I helped to build the company and in recent years I started selling helicopters directly to European customers. Last year, Helicopter Alliance approached me and we started talking. I liked not only the Black Hawk business, but also the people of Helicopter Alliance. They are hungry, they understand the market, they are experts in various fields. The commercial helicopter business of CE Industries is very significant. On the one hand, it is geopolitical, but also because of the crisis in Europe when it comes to firefighting. At the same time, there are old Black Hawks on the market and they will be used for another 50 to 60 years.

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