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Home» News»South Korea Selects MH-60R Helicopter for ROK Navy
South Korea Selects MH-60R Helicopter for ROK Navy
PACIFIC OCEAN (July 20, 2018) An MH-60R Sea Hawk assigned to the “Tropics” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49.5 prepares to land on the flight deck of guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) during the at-sea phase of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander C. Kubitza/Released)

South Korea Selects MH-60R Helicopter for ROK Navy

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) today issued a statement announcing that it has selected Sikorsky's MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopter for the ROK Navy's MOH Batch 2 requirement.

Xavier Vavasseur 15 Dec 2020

For the record, DAPA issued the procurement process for the Maritime Operation Helicopter (MOH) batch 2 program in May 2019. The bids were due by mid-August while the winner could be announced by the end of the year.

The announcement published today on the DAPA website reads:

The Marine Operational Helicopter Batch 2 program is a project to secure maritime operational helicopters with anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities through overseas purchase to improve the long-distance surface and underwater detection and attack capabilities of naval vessels. The MH-60R was selected for the 2nd maritime helicopter project, and the contract is expected to be concluded within this year.
Project period: ’17~’25 years, total project cost: about 960 billion won


DAPA statement

As we reported previously, the United States’ State Department approved in August last year a possible Foreign Military Sale to South Korea of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters for an estimated cost of $800 million.

The MOH Batch 2 programme calls for the procurement of 12 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters for the RoK Navy for a value of about $800 million. Naval News understand that three designs that were competing were:

  • Leonardo / AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat
  • NHIndustries NH90 Nato Frigate Helicopter (NFH)
  • Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo

Eight AW159 Wildcat have been procured by the ROK Navy as part of the MOH Batch 1 tender. Leonardo was initially named the preferred bidder for MOH Batch 2 but the acquisition process was restarted because DAPA’s procurement rules stipulates that a single-source contract is only permissible after two failed open tenders.

Here is our coverage of the MH-60R helicopter during last year’s Seoul Airshow:

According to ROK Navy sources, the “Romeos” will be deployed aboard the future surface combatants of the ROK Navy, namely the KDX III Batch 2 Aegis destroyers as well as the FFX Batch III frigates.

About MH-60R “Romeo” maritime helicopter

U.S. Approves Sale of 24 MH-60R Maritime Helicopters for Indian Navy
PACIFIC OCEAN (July 29, 2018) An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78 flies over the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devin M. Langer/Released)

The U..S Navy is the main operator of the MH-60R with 289 units in its fleet. It is the primary anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare helicopter in the fleet.

The MH-60R combines the features of the SH-60B and SH-60F aircraft. Its sensors package includes an MTS-FLIR, the AN/APS-147 multi-mode radar/IFF interrogator, an advanced airborne fleet data link, and a more advanced airborne active low frequency sonar (ALFS). Offensive capabilities are improved by the addition of new Mk-54 air-launched torpedoes and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

So far, the Romeo has been selected by the navies of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Australia, India and Greece… South Korea can be added to the list following today’s announcement.

MH-60R ROK Navy Sikorsky South Korea 2020-12-15
Tags MH-60R ROK Navy Sikorsky South Korea
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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