Designed and built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, MH-60R aircraft will enable Norway to perform multiple maritime missions, including search and rescue and coastal and offshore patrol.
“Sikorsky and the U.S. Navy have 40 years of experience designing, building and improving Seahawk helicopters for operations in extreme maritime environments, and preparing militaries worldwide for ever-evolving threats,” said Hamid Salim, vice president, Sikorsky Maritime Systems.
This contract for Norway comes on the heels of another MH-60R contract, awarded less than a month ago. On October 12, Lockheed Martin secured a contract for eight MH-60R aircraft for the Spanish Navy.
To date, Sikorsky has supplied 330 MH-60R helicopters to five different countries. An additional 64 units are either on order or currently in manufacturing for nations including India, Greece, South Korea, Australia, Spain, and now Norway.
”This platform has a long and proven track record of reliability and flexibility in operational environments similar to those faced by the Norwegian Air Force and Coast Guard. This is why we believe the MH-60R is the solution that best meets Norway’s current requirements, and why we are very pleased to see this contract moving forward”, said Brigadier General Jarle Nergård, head of the Air Systems Division of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
Norway, which is a first-time user of the Seahawk helicopters, is slated to take delivery of all six MH-60R aircraft by the year 2027.
“The MH-60R is designed for all aspects of land and maritime operations from the vast majority of air-capable ships”, said Capt. William Hargreaves, program manager, H-60 Multi-mission Helicopter Program Office. “We are confident in Norway’s selection of this unmatched, multi-mission helicopter to support their coast guard.”
Source: Lockheed Martin
