According to information published by the Liberal Party of Australia on May 9, 2022, the Australian government will expand the maritime helicopter fleet with an additional 12 MH-60R Romeo maritime helicopters to be acquired and based at HMAS Albatross, along with a 13th Romeo to replace one lost in 2021.
Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link
MH-60R Romeo maritime helicopters (Picture source: Lockheed Martin)
The MH-60R and its mission systems replaced the fleet’s S-70B-2 Seahawk aircraft, which retired from service on 1 December 2017.
The Australian Government approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion. The helicopters are largely military off-the-shelf built by Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin and were acquired through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process from the US Navy.
The MH-60R is a naval version of the American-made UH-60 Black Hawk designed and manufactured by the Sikorsky company which is now part of Lockheed Martin.
The MH-60R can be armed and can be equipped with a range of weapons on the four weapons stations, including Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire anti-surface missiles.
For anti-submarine warfare, the MH-60R can carry up to three ATK mk50 or mk46 active/passive lightweight torpedoes. The side of the helicopter can be fitted with a pintle-mounted weapon station armed with a 7.62mm machine gun.
The MH-60R is powered by two General Electric T700-GE-401C turboshaft engines rated at 1,425kW. It can fly at a maximum speed of 267 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 834 km.
