Lockheed Martin Federal Systems (LMFS) is preparing to deliver the first Sikorsky SH-60R Seahawk prototypes to the US Navy and expects to be awarded a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract in May for five modernised machines.
The US Navy has awarded LMFS a $37.2 million contract to upgrade a third and final pair of SH-60B helicopters to the new configuration for testing. The SH-60Rs will also serve as initial production machines to be delivered to the USN in 2003 and followed by the five LRIP helicopters.
Company test flying of the first prototype began at Owego last December, three months behind schedule, and it will be joined by a second helicopter shortly. It has logged 30h to date and is set to be delivered to the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River in the middle of this month to begin a two-year test programme.
"We've exercised as much as we can the communications, keyset, radar and acoustics-everything but the armaments, which forms part of the second phase," says Bill Vincent, LMFSSH-60R programme manager. This latter part of testing will include the SH-60R's Raytheon AAS-44 forward looking infrared sensor, LMFS ALQ-210 electronic support measures and self-defence systems.
The helicopter has been fitted with the new Litton glass cockpit, Telephonics APS-147 radar, sonobuoy system and Raytheon/ Thomson-CSF AQS-22 dipping sonar, the data analysis on which is under way. LMFS has also been awarded a $13.6 million contract to supply a new commercial off-the-shelf acoustic processor to replace the UYS-2A used in the prototypes.
Two more SH-60R test helicopters will be delivered to the navy in 2001 once LMFS has completed systems installation. The second pair of machines will differ in that they will be the first to be remanufactured by Sikorsky and be fitted with new cabin sections.
A second LRIP contract is to be awarded in 2001 for four SH-60Rs, followed by a third for eight machines the next year, before the start of full rate production in 2003. The navy plans to remanufacture and upgrade 243 SH-60Bs, SH-60Fs and HH-60Hs to a common SH-60R configuration.
The SH-60R features a common cockpit with the navy's new- build CH-60S utility machine, which made its first flight in late January. LMFs has been given a third production order to supply 13 common cockpits.
Source: Flight International
