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Australia’s fleet of 23 MH-60R Seahawks has surpassed 50,000 flight hours in a landmark moment in the aircraft’s service.
The news comes with the RAN set to acquire 13 additional MH-60Rs, taking its final fleet to 36, alongside a separate order for 40 UH-60M Black Hawks.
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The MH-60R Seahawk was selected by the Australian Government in June 2011 to replace the legacy S-70B-2 Seahawk fleet.
The first was delivered in December 2013 and entered service the next month. The MH-60R is jointly built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Lockheed Martin, with Sikorsky responsible for the airframe and Lockheed Martin for the avionics and mission systems.
“Sikorsky Australia has built a 200-strong workforce including 20 apprentices, a regional supply chain of 60 suppliers, and established world-class sustainment and logistics facility at Albatross Aviation Technology Park, Nowra,” said Lockheed in a statement.
“In line with the new sustainment contract and Royal Australian Navy’s acquisition of 13 additional MH-60R aircraft, the workforce is expected to grow to around 300 personnel over the next five years.”
The helicopter supports a range of maritime operations, including anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, and cargo transfer.
It features integrated mission systems that combine inputs from radar, sonar, electro-optical, and electronic support equipment, and shares this information via high-speed datalinks. When not deployed at sea, the aircraft are based at HMAS Albatross in Nowra, New South Wales.
“From humble beginnings, our modest team provided sustainment support utilising Fleet Air Arm Squadron hangars prior to our facility being constructed,” said Sikorsky Australia’s general manager, Cliff Kyle.
“Our maintainers and logisticians deployed to the US to train and operate alongside 725 Squadron to absorb the global expertise and transfer this technical knowledge to Australia.
“In partnership with the Royal Australian Navy, our workforce has delivered 60 Planned Maintenance Interval servicings on the Navy’s fleet of Seahawks at our Nowra facility, including the first-ever deep maintenance activity on a US Navy MH-60R Seahawk.”
In total, there are more than 345 MH-60R Seahawks in operation worldwide, with 160 Seahawks of all types operational in the Indo-Pacific region alone.
The ADF’s reliance on the Seahawks and Black Hawks is set to grow over the next decade, with the aircraft replacing Australia’s beleaguered fleet of 47 Airbus-built MRH-90 Taipans.
