The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant airframe modification is a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships. Operational and deployed today with the U.S. Navy as the primary anti-submarine warfare anti-surface weapon system for open ocean and littoral zones, the MH-60R SEAHAWK® helicopter is the world’s most advanced maritime helicopter. The Seahawk also can handle anti-surface warfare (ASUW), naval special warfare (NSW) insertion, search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).The U.S. Navy uses the H-60 airframe under the model designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, and MH-60S. It is the most capable naval helicopter available today designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers.
The MH-60R was originally known as “LAMPS Mark III Block II Upgrade” when development began in 1993.The MH-60R was formally deployed by the US Navy in 2006. The MH-60R is designed to combine the features of the SH-60B and SH-60F. Its sensors include the ASE package, MTS-FLIR, the AN/APS-147 multi-mode radar/IFF interrogator, an advanced airborne fleet data link, and a more advanced airborne active sonar. It does not carry the MAD suite. Pilot instrumentation is based on the MH-60S’s glass cockpit, using several digital monitors instead of the complex array of dials and gauges in Bravo and Foxtrot aircraft. Offensive capabilities are improved by the addition of new Mk-54 air-launched torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. All Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light (HSL) squadrons that receive the Romeo are redesignated Helicopter, Strike Maritime (HSM) squadrons. During a mid-life technology insertion project, the MH-60R fleet shall be fitted with the AN/APS-153 Multi-Mode Radar with Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) capability.
As threats become more complex and the demand for superior anti-submarine (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) grows, the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter delivers the capability and agility needed to address the evolving defense environment worldwide. Aboard the MH-60R, sensor data is integrated into actionable information for the three-member crew. The mission systems compile data from onboard and off board sensors to create an integrated picture that allows the helicopter to identify, locate, track and prosecute threats. In addition to the MH-60R’s unmatched capability in its primary mission areas of ASW and ASuW, it also has the capability for secondary missions such as search and rescue, vertical replenishment, naval surface fire support, logistics support, personnel transport, medical evacuation, and VHF/UHF/link communication relay. The U.S. Navy’s fleet of MH-60R “Romeo” and MH-60S “Sierra” SEAHAWK® aircraft has surpassed 1 million flight hours since their induction into the fleet in 2004. All international MH-60R partners can share in the U.S. Navy’s ongoing technical insertion roadmap, mitigating obsolescence and keeping pace and ahead of the maritime threats for the next 30 years and beyond.
