Breeze-Eastern Corporation (NYSE MKT: BZC), the aerospace industry’s only dedicated hoist and winch specialist, has been selected by the U.S. Army to supply BL-29900-30-1 high performance rescue hoists, as it upgrades its fleet of medical evacuation and search and rescue BLACK HAWK helicopters. These helicopters are used by active Army, Reserves and the National Guard, and deliveries are expected to begin this year, concluding by October 2018.

“We are proud to be a part of the BLACK HAWK upgrade program and are dedicated to providing the latest in rescue hoist technologies to the U.S. Army, U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Brad Pedersen. “As the rescue hoist market leader, our primary focus is contributing to safe, successful operations and missions.”

This 5-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract is part of the U.S. Army’s efforts to upgrade UH-60A BLACK HAWK helicopters to the latest technologies in mission readiness and performance. Breeze-Eastern’s BL-29900-30-1 is the industry’s premier rescue hoist and its unique Reactive Overload Clutch (ROC) feature is a next-generation improvement over standard slip-clutch technology used by competitive manufacturers. The ROC offers superior protection if the cable has high steady state loads and high shock loads. Shock loading can happen in a variety of operations and can have catastrophic results without this added protection.

The Breeze-Eastern family of 29900 rescue hoists provides the highest speed, fastest acceleration and unlimited duty cycle for all-weather operations.  These hoists are available for new production helicopters or as a retrofit on existing rotorcraft.

Breeze-Eastern Corporation is a leading global designer and manufacturer of high-performance lifting and pulling devices for helicopters, military cargo aircraft, and other aerospace/defense platforms, including rescue hoists, cargo winches and cargo hooks, and weapons-lifting systems.