Aircraft Plays A Forward Role In Anti-Submarine, Anti-Surface
Warfare
The U.S. Navy demonstrated its continued commitment to keeping
its MH-60R Seahawk helicopter fleet at the forefront of
anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, awarding Lockheed Martin a
variety of production and development contracts totaling $360
million. The end-of-year awards cover a spectrum of systems aboard
the MH-60R, built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
MH-60R Seahawk
"The Navy's investment in the MH-60R fleet ensures our pilots
and aircrews have the best and most advanced equipment for every
mission," said Capt. Dean Peters, U.S. Navy MH-60 program manager.
"We are looking for reliable, modern aircraft upgraded efficiently
and affordably, and that's why we have devoted these resources to
the MH-60 fleet."
As Lockheed Martin prepares for its 300th cockpit delivery
milestone in late February, the Navy exercised a $38 million option
under the current multi-year contract to cover production of the
next lot of common cockpits for MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters. The
bulk of the work will be performed at Lockheed Martin's facility in
Owego, N.Y., and is scheduled for completion by April 2013.
Additionally, the Navy will provide MH-60R/S crews with improved
situational awareness by incorporating Lockheed Martin's
Situational Awareness Technology Insertion (SATI) aboard the
aircraft under a $35 million contract. The award covers a
pre-development iteration of SATI, an eight-component package of
upgrades and improvements to the helicopter's flight management
system. Improvements include a new integrated digital map to give
pilots a clear picture of their operating area, and an upgrade to
the Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) system. The IFF upgrade will
prevent interference during transmission and ensure
interoperability with the Federal Aviation Administration and other
agencies.
One of the most highly advanced systems aboard the MH-60R -
Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) -
will transition from system development and demonstration (SDD) to
production under a $36 million contract award. The Telephonics
radar used in ARPDD is the latest iteration of the radar currently
deployed with the MH-60R, but adds a new mode requiring improved
radar performance and eight times the processing power of the
previous version.
In October 2010, Lockheed Martin and the Navy successfully
completed initial flight tests of the system aboard an MH-60R,
marking the first time a helicopter has had the functionality for
its on-board radar to automatically discriminate between a
periscope and other small surface objects, significantly improving
the probability of finding a submarine. This recent contract award
covers the infrastructure required to meet full-rate production and
the fielding of the ARPDD radar system aboard six MH-60R production
aircraft to support Initial Operational Capability in 2013.
Construction of the next lot of 24 MH-60R mission avionics
suites and 18 MH-60S cockpits will begin under a $72 million
Multi-Year II advanced acquisition contract award that covers
long-lead items for the helicopters and cockpit systems. Lockheed
Martin and partner Sikorsky Aircraft have delivered more than 85
MH-60R helicopters to date and are on track to reach the century
mark early in 2011.