Lockheed Martin Delivers Its 100th Romeo TO Us Navy (mh-6o hr)

MH-60R Helicopter Takes Center Stage

Lockheed Martin delivers 100th Romeo to U.S. Navy; Australia selects aircraft to replace existing fleet Lockheed Martin delivered the 100th MH-60R maritime helicopter to the U.S. Navy recently as part of the Navy’s plan to purchase 300 MH-60Rs to replace its aging fleet of SH-60B and SH-60F helicopters. The MH-60R maritime helicopter took center stage at Lockheed Martin’s Owego, N.Y., facility on June 28 with the delivery of the 100th aircraft to the U.S. Navy. The milestone puts the program well on the road to fulfilling the U.S. Navy’s master plan that calls for purchasing 300 MH-60Rs, more commonly known as Romeos, to replace the navy’s aging fleet of SH-60B and SH-60F helicopters. Photo   Lockheed Martin unveiled the 100th MH-60R maritime helicopter to be delivered to the U.S. Navy during a June 28 ceremony at the company’s facility in Owego, N.Y. Two weeks earlier, the Australian government selected the Romeo to fulfill the Australian Defence Force’s requirement for a fleet of 24 new-generation multi-role naval combat aircraft. The Commonwealth will acquire the helicopters with associated training and logistical support via the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program. This marked the first procurement of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopter by a foreign country. “In its primary mission roles of anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, the Romeo continues to exceed our expectations and frankly no other platform out there is even close,” said Rear Adm. Paul Grosklags, vice commander, U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command. “And the Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin MH-60R/S partnership gives us the flexibility to use these aircraft to take on new mission roles successfully and affordably.” Operational since 2006, the U.S. Navy already has stood up two training and three operational MH-60R squadrons. The MH-60R recently completed its initial deployment onboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) Battle Group, with a sortie completion rate of 95 percent, and execution of one of the most successful anti-submarine warfare exercises in recent history. Video   Besides performing its primary mission roles of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, the multi-role aircraft also can perform search and rescue, troop transport, medical evacuation, ship-to-ship replenishment and humanitarian relief operations. As the integrator for the aircraft, Lockheed Martin and partner Sikorsky Aircraft, which manufactures the airframe, have co-developed and delivered maritime helicopters for the U.S. Navy for more than 35 years.