Six former Spanish Navy Aircraft at €100 Each
Peru is procuring six Sikorsky SH-3 helicopters recently withdrawn from service by the Spanish Navy. At the symbolic price of €100 each authorised by Spain’s Council of Ministers, this must surely be among the cheapest military helicopter financial transaction in history! An official Spanish government statement reads, in part, “The value according to inventory of the material in question, circumstances such as the obsolescence of the material, its high cost of repair, transport costs, limited marketing opportunities and, consequently, its reduced market value are contrasted,” adding that an objective of the sale is “to strengthen the fluid and trusting relationship between the Spanish and the Peruvian Navies.”
The Spanish Navy has acquired the SH-60F Seahawk as replacement for its old Sea Kings, operated since 1966. In total, 18 Sea Kings were incorporated into different batches in SH-3D and SH-3G configurations, amassing over 100,000 flight hours in operations with the 5th Navy Squadron. The last two SH-3Ds were retired in June 2022.
The helicopters will be used by the Peruvian Navy’s Escuadrón Aeronaval de Ataque No.22, of Grupo Aeronaval No.1 in Lima, which already operates a fleet of two Agusta AS-61D and four Sikorsky UH-3H Sea Kings.
Santiago Rivas in Buenos Aires for MON
