Companies under the Helicopter Alliance umbrella have secured a deal with the Czech interior ministry to supply six Sikorsky rotorcraft – three new S-70M Firehawks and trio of refurbished UH-60Ls – for operation by the country’s police.

Prague-Kbely airport-based avionics and mission equipment specialist CLS is the lead contractor for both parts of the tender, also involving sister company Ace Aeronautics in the USA.

Covered by two framework agreements between the parties, the acquisition also includes training and an initial spares package. Deliveries are due to be completed within three years of the order being formalised.

Funded by the EU’s rescEU civil protection initiative, the three firefighting-configured S-70Ms will be built by Sikorsky’s Polish subsidiary PZL Mielec, with modification performed locally by United Rotorcraft – its first such project away from its Colorado home base.

Although equipped with a large volume tank, the Firehawks can also be rapidly reconfigured for other duties if required.

Under the second framework agreement, Alabama-based Ace Aeronautics will modernize ex-US Army UH-60Ls – including the new dynamic components and engines, plus an all-glass cockpit – for operation by the police air service.

Ace is a prime contractor on the US Army’s Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Transaction (BEST) programme which sees the service auction off older UH-60Ls to fund their replacement by newer M-model aircraft.