House committee wants to boost Black Hawk funding

The Army would receive funding to procure 10 more Black Hawk helicopters than it asked for under a proposal from the House Appropriations Committee released Tuesday.

The Army would receive $991 million to procure Black Hawk helicopters, up from the Army‘s request of $718.6 million, according to a summary of the fiscal year 2023 defense spending bill released by the House Appropriations Committee.

The money would enable the Army to purchase 35 UH-60M and HH-60M Black Hawks, according to the summary. The Army’s initial request, $273 million less than the House recommendation, asked to procure 10 UH-60M variants and 15 HH-60M variants, according to Pentagon budget documents.

The Army’s request for Black Hawk procurement funds is less than was enacted last year, due primarily to cuts in one-time procurement funding for some aircraft programs, an Army budget official previously said.

Congress last year increased Black Hawk procurement funding by $211.5 million above the Army’s request so the service could procure additional HH-60M helicopters for the Army National Guard.