28 October 2020

LM contracted to build MH-60R helos for Greece

by Gareth Jennings

Lockheed Martin has been contracted to build four MH-60R Seahawk maritime multimission helicopters for Greece, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 26 October.

Greece is to receive four of the seven MH-60R Seahawk helicopters it has been approved to buy, with a USD193.98 million contract announced on 26 October. (US Navy)

The USD193.98 million award covers production and delivery of the four helicopters for the Hellenic Navy, as well as exercising an option to procure three Airborne Low Frequency Systems (ALFS).

Work is expected to be completed in February 2025.

News of the award comes some 16 months after the US State Department approved the sale of seven MH-60R helicopters to Greece, as well as spares, systems, weapons, training, and support, for an estimated USD600 million.

“The MH-60R helicopters will bolster the Hellenic Navy’s ability to support NATO and remain interoperable with the US and the NATO alliance. The proposed sale will improve Greece’s capability to meet current and future threats. The MH-60R multimission helicopter will provide the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in its July 2019 approval notification.

Specifically, the systems to be provided comprise the ALFS; AN/AAS-44C(V) Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems; Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems with Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM); AN/AVS-9 night-vision goggles; and 1,000 AN/SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys. Weapons include 100 BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) guided-rockets; 30 Mk 54 torpedoes; as well as M240 and GAU-21 crew-served guns. Lockheed Martin AGM-114 M36-E9 Hellfire captive air-training missiles and AGM-114Q Hellfire training missiles have been requested, but the live-fire missiles have not.

Lockheed Martin has been contracted to build four MH-60R Seahawk maritime multimission helicopters f...

Jane's Find unrivaled intelligence, consultancy and advertising solutions to the defence and national security sectors.