South Korea's navy begins operational deployment of MH-60R Seahawks
A Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk deployed with the Republic of Korea Navy's 62 Maritime Helicopter Group at Jinhae. (DAPA)
The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) has operationalised its Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk multirole helicopters following an acceptance ceremony on 1 April.
The country's Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said an initial batch of two MH-60Rs were handed over to the 62nd Maritime Helicopter Group at Jinhae, with the remaining aircraft to enter service sequentially. Vice Admiral Kim Kyung-ryul, the RoKN Chief of Naval Operations, said the helicopters began full-scale operations that same day.
The Seahawk fleet will undertake anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-ship, as well as search and rescue missions, DAPA said.
South Korea ordered 12 MH-60R helicopters in December 2020 under its Marine Operation Helicopter (MOH) I programme through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism. By November 2025, the RoKN had inducted six aircraft. Lockheed Martin said at the time that deliveries would be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
According to DAPA, the MH-60R has an endurance of four hours when equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks and is fitted with a suite of surveillance and reconnaissance systems, including maritime radar, digital electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) equipment, and electronic warfare equipment (ESM).
When notifying US Congress of the proposed sale in 2019, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the platform would be fitted with equipment including AN/AAS-44C(V) Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems, AN/ARC-210 RT-1990A(C) radios with Communications Security (COMSEC), AN/ARC-220 High Frequency radios, and the AN/APX-123 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system.
DSCA said other key systems include the Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM), and Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems – Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVT) Block Upgrade Two Terminals.
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