The US Department of Defense has approved a contract for Lockheed Martin to support Australian and Danish MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.
The US$13 million contract includes investigations, systems engineering support, risk analysis, integration development, weight impact, publication updates, maintenance, training, tooling updates and qualification testing. The work will take place in New York state and is expected to wrap up in March 2024.
The MH-60R is equipped with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and the Mark 54 anti-submarine torpedo for anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare. Secondary missions include search and rescue, logistics support, personnel transport and medical evacuation.
Final production work on the integration of the MH60-R helicopter onto final AWD NUSHIP Sydney included modifying the storage of Mk54 torpedoes and AGM-114N Hellfire missiles as part of the construction process rather than after its completion. This allowed for the ships’ acceptance several months earlier than previously scheduled.