The Navy on Oct. 12 awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $379.6 million order for eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for Spain.
Spain plans to use these Seahawk helicopters to upgrade the anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities from the current SH-60B Seahawk fleet within the Spanish Navy, officially called “the Armada.”
The work is set to be split between Owego, N.Y. (52 percent); Stratford Conn. (40 percent); and Troy, Ala. and is expected to be finished by March 2027.
In 2022, the Spanish Navy retired the last of its 18 SH-3 Sea King helicopters. It also acquired 12 SH-60B helicopters starting in 1988. More recently, it also bought eight SH-60F Seahawk helicopters that the Navy retired.
This award comes after the State Department approved the sale last year. That approval included a total cost of $950 million that also includes engines, Hellfire missiles, WGU-59/B Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II Guidance Sections, Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems Joint Tactical Radio Systems, and Airborne Low Frequency Sonars, and other related systems and logistical support (Defense Daily, March 15, 2022).
At the time, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the new helicopters will provide Spain with the ability to perform the anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions while also performing vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay to help support NATO.
“The new MH-60R will upgrade mission systems and sensors of the SH-60B fleet, elevating the Armada to the highest level of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability. We expect a smooth transition from the SH-60B to the MH-60R,” the Armada said in a statement.
“Spain’s confidence in the MH-60R is an attestation to our shared commitment to national security and the security of our allied nations,” Capt. William Hargreaves, U.S. Navy H-60 Multi-mission Helicopters program manager, said in a statement.
“We are committed to supporting Spain throughout this process from contract award through delivery while further solidifying our global partnership,” he continued.
Hamid Salim, vice president of Sikorsky Maritime Systems, said that the operational effectiveness of the MH-60R “is a direct result of ongoing investment by the U.S. Navy, Sikorsky, and our partner suppliers in the air vehicle, mission systems and sensors.”
Lockheed Martin Sikorsky has produced 330 MH-60R helicopters, with other aircraft operational with the U.S. Navy, Australia, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and India. In 2024 the company is set to deliver MH-60R helicopters to Greece and South Korea.