MH-60R Seahawk Romeo was acquired from the US Navy through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The capability consists of
- 23 MH-60R Seahawk Romeos
- 2 mission simulators
- Static maintenance training aircraft
- wide range of aircrew and maintenance part task trainers.
The fleet of MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters provides Navy with a contemporary platform that performs combat and maritime support spanning anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, vertical replenishment, passenger and cargo transfer, and search and rescue capability.
The aircraft is equipped with a highly sophisticated avionics and sensor suite with a weapon system that includes crew-served machine gun, Hellfire air-to-surface missile, Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) and the Mark 54 anti-submarine torpedo.
The fleet of helicopters enables the Navy to “raise, train and sustain” the uniformed ADF workforce required to deploy eight Seahawks embarked across the ANZAC class frigates, the Hobart class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD) and Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD).
The helicopters are sustained by CN35, which has contributed to the development of a world-class deeper maintenance and sustainment workforce in Australia. Over 200 people are employed in Australian industry, providing significant levels of in-country maintenance and support for the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter. Australia’s in-country support partners include:
- Sikorsky Australia for depot level maintenance, supply support and inventory management.
- CAE Australia for maintenance, engineering and instructional services for simulators and other training devices.
- Asia Pacific Aerospace for maintenance and repair services for T700 engines.
Introduction into Service Year:2013
Planned Withdrawal Year:2048
Content is current at February 2024.