Mon, Jun 20, 2011
Has Received Government Approval For Purchase Of 24 MH-60R
Helos
Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for
Defence Materiel Jason Clare said Wednesday that the Australian
Government had approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk
'Romeo' naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion. The
2009 Defence White Paper committed the Government to equipping
naval warships with a new combat helicopter capable of conducting a
range of maritime missions with advanced anti-submarine warfare
capabilities and the ability to fire air-to-surface missiles.
The new helicopters will replace the Navy's current combat
helicopter capability provided by 16 Seahawk S-70B-2 helicopters
and will also provide the air to surface strike capability which
was to have been provided by the cancelled Seasprite program. This
decision follows a 15-month competitive acquisition process
involving the Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin built MH-60R and the NATO
Helicopter Industries NH90 NFH assembled by Australian
Aerospace.
The Australian Government has chosen the 'Romeo' helicopter
because it represents the best value for money for taxpayers and
was the lowest risk option. The 'Romeo' is a proven capability
currently operated by the United States Navy. The US Navy has
accepted around 100 'Romeos' which have accumulated 90,000 flying
hours, including on operational deployments.
Interoperability with Australia's Alliance partner, the United
States, is also a significant advantage of this helicopter. The
helicopters are largely military off-the-shelf built by Sikorsky
and Lockheed Martin and will be purchased through the Foreign
Military Sales process from the US Navy. Defence has signed a
Letter of Agreement for the acquisition with the United States
Government. The first two helicopters will arrive in mid-2014 for
testing and evaluation with operations expected to commence in
mid-2015.
Acquisition of 24 'Romeos' means that Navy will have the
capacity to provide at least eight warships with a combat
helicopter at the same time, including ANZAC Class frigates and the
new Air Warfare Destroyers. The remainder will be based at HMAS
Albatross in Nowra, New South Wales, and will be in various stages
of the regular maintenance and training cycle. They will be
equipped with a highly sophisticated combat systems designed to
employ Hellfire air-to-surface missile and the Mark 54
anti-submarine torpedo.
The Government will work with Australian Small-to-Medium
Enterprises to identify opportunities to form part of the 'Romeo'
global supply chain, and has established a joint working group
between Defence and the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science
and Research to progress Australian industry involvement in the
project.
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