MH-60R

The U.S. Navy’s most advanced maritime helicopter is now operational and deployed as the primary anti-submarine and anti-surface weapon system for both open ocean and littoral zones.

The MH-60R combines the missions of the U.S. Navy’s SH-60B and the SH-60F helicopters, which it replaces, into one multimission weapons platform, while still using a three-person crew.

Secondary missions include search and rescue, vertical replenishment, naval surface fire support, medical evacuation, and communications and data relay.

As the prime systems integrator for the MH-60R, Lockheed Martin has integrated multiple mission systems to provide the aircrew, and the battle group via data link, an accurate situational picture of the surface and subsurface domains.

Mission computers apply smart automation to process the sensor data into actionable knowledge, prioritize threats for the crew to act on, and reduce workload.

The weapon system can operate independently to detect, locate, identify, track and prosecute targets.  But it fights most effectively when sharing situational awareness with the host ship and other forces. As a key node on the network, the MH-60R can collect and stream situational awareness data to the host ship via C-band data link (Ku-band by 2012), and can collaborate with air assets via Link 16.

The MH-60R became operational in late 2005 following 1900 hours of rigorous flight and mission systems evaluations by U.S. Navy test squadrons. The aircraft deployed for the first time from January to July 2009 with the John C. Stennis (CVN 74) carrier strike group. During exercises in the western Pacific, the aircraft achieved a 95 percent sortie completion rate.

The MH-60R is currently in full rate production with aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky and mission systems integrator Lockheed Martin. On February 3, 2010, Lockheed Martin delivered the 50th fully-integrated aircraft to the U.S. Navy.

The companies have capacity to increase production for international sales. Navies can take advantage of the U.S. Navy’s long-term technology growth path for the MH-60R, and the established logistics supply chain.

To date, the U.S. Navy has established four of 20 MH-60R squadrons, with plans to purchase 300 aircraft.

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