Portugal is rebuilding its Army aviation capability through the acquisition and modernization of refurbished UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters obtained from US military inventories. The aircraft will undergo extensive upgrades, including structural refurbishment, avionics improvements, and mission-specific equipment integration to support tactical transport, casualty evacuation, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, firefighting, search and rescue, and special operations. Executed through NATO’s procurement framework, the program restores a key military capability lost after the Army’s aviation branch was disbanded and significantly improves Portugal’s operational mobility across military and civil emergency missions.
