Sikorsky has delivered two MH-60S Seahawk naval helicopters on order for the Royal Thai Navy, and revealed the same customer could have a requirement for more of the aircraft.
The first S-model Seahawks to be delivered to an export customer, the aircraft were flown to the port of Baltimore in Maryland from Lockheed Martin's Owego plant in New York, where their digital cockpits had been installed.
Bangkok ordered its new aircraft via the US government's Foreign Military Sales programme.
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The MH-60S will augment the navy's in-service fleet of six S-70B Seahawks, which Flightglobal's HeliCAS database records as having entered use in 1997.
The acquisition also includes the provision of training for pilots and maintenance personnel, plus spare parts and logistics support.
The new type will be used for tasks including utility transport and search and rescue missions, according to Sikorsky.
"The [Royal Thai] Navy has expressed interest in additional MH-60S purchases", it added in a 8 August statement about the delivery.
In 2006, Thailand requested the possible purchase of six MH-60S aircraft, worth almost $250 million, but went on to sign a smaller order for an initial two examples.
Other assets flown by the Thai navy include seven Bell 212/214s, four Sikorsky S-76Bs, two Bell UH-1s and two AgustaWestland Super Lynx 110 helicopters, according to HeliCAS data.
Source: Flight International
