DEFENCE
fiightglobal.com 19-25 January 2016 | Flight International | 17
Tokyo’s Hawkeyes
to be adapted for
extended watch
DEFENCE PS
audi Arabia’s purchase of 10
Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk
anti-submarine warfare
helicopters “dovetails nicely”
with the scheduled delivery of
the US Navy’s final examples
later this decade, according to
the brand’s new parent,
Lockheed Martin.
Sikorsky clinched a contract
from Riyadh for 10 “green” air-
craft in December 2015; seven
months after a foreign military
sales request worth an estimated
$1.9 billion had been approved
by the US government.
Deliveries will begin for Saudi
Arabia in July 2018, says Mike
Fralen, Lockheed’s director of
MH-60R business development,
and all 10 aircraft will be trans-
ferred by April 2019. The Royal
Saudi Navy helicopters will fea-
ture a dipping sonar and be
armed with Lockheed AGM-
Hellfire air-to-surface missiles
and Raytheon torpedoes and
guided rockets.
That production schedule
aligns with a final delivery to the
USN during 2018. The service
has received 217 of an eventual
278 “Romeos” since 2005.
Before that milestone is
reached, Lockheed says the Royal
Australian Navy will accept its
last seven of 24 MH-60Rs in Au-
gust 2016, while a ninth and final
example for the Royal Danish Air
Force will be transferred by April- An initial pair of the latter’s
fleet were signed over to the USN
last October, to support crew
training at NAS Mayport in Flori-
da, and Fralen says six more will
be delivered in 2016.
Lockheed says further oppor-
tunities to export the MH-60R
abound, particularly in the Asia-
Pacific region, where territorial
disputes have placed several na-
vies on high alert.
“The MH-60R is currently
being considered by other coun-
tries, and we’ll look to see how
their analysis and contract deci-
sions mature over the next one to
two years,” says Fralen.
Sikorsky finishes the
S-70/H-60 derivative in Stratford,
Connecticut, before Lockheed
instals its submarine-hunting
mission systems and other
cockpit equipment in Owego,
New York. The latter, which com-
pleted its acquisition of Sikorsky
last November, is now leading
the global MH-60R sales push
against competitors such as the
AgustaWestland AW159 and NH
Industries NH90.
There are already outstanding
sales cases for the MH-60R with
South Korea, which had a request
for eight aircraft approved by the
USA in 2012, and Qatar, which
received similar backing for a 10-
unit purchase the following year.
Taiwan also has expressed inter-
est in acquiring 10 of the type. ■K
orea Aerospace Industries
(KAI) and Indonesian
Aerospace have signed an agree-
ment for joint development of the
KFX fighter, with the pact having
been sealed by company leaders
at the defence ministry in Jakarta
earlier this month.
The agreement sets the stage
for Indonesia to share 20% of the
development costs for the South
Korean-led project, which are
estimated at around W8.5 tril-
lion ($8.3 billion).
The Seoul government will
foot 60% of the bill, with KAI
and additional industrial part-
ners to cover the final 20%.
Overall, Jakarta’s contribution
is expected to value “about W1.
trillion”, with Indonesia to
provide 1% of the total budget
by April 2016, and 2%-plus
starting in 2017.
Indonesian Aerospace – also
known as PTDI – will send 100
staff to KAI’s Sacheon facilities
to assist in the design of the
fighter, which is aimed at being
more advanced than the
Lockheed Martin F-16, but less
capable than the same manufac-
turer’s F-35.
In late December 2015 KAI
formalised an agreement with the
South Korean government to
develop the new fighter. It is aim-
ing for a first flight by 2022 and
the completion of development
activities by 2026.
The Republic of Korea Air
Force is expected to acquire 120
of the twin-engined KFX, and
Indonesia’s air force 80. ■rotorcraft jameS drew washington DC
Saudi deal enhances romeo’s allure
Production for Riyadh to maintain pace of anti-submarine Mh-60R as Lockheed/sikorsky eye further sales opportunities
development greg waldron singaPoRe
indonesia signs up for
KFX fighter collaboration
Us^navylast deliveries to the US navy are scheduled to occur in 2018Unmanned SyStemSUaVsolutionsphoenix rises with romanian army
UaV solutions has delivered four of its Phoenix 30 unmanned air
vehicles to the Romanian army.
the quadrotor aircraft were delivered via the Us government’s
Foreign Military sales programme, along with the company’s Dragon
View electro-optical/infrared camera payload, ground control sys-
tem, spare parts and ground support equipment.
the battery-powered UaV weighs 6kg (14lb), and can carry a
0.9kg payload with a 30-35min endurance. Maximum speed is 24kt
(45km/h) and cruise speed is 15kt.
Romania also operates a variant of the textron Unmanned
systems RQ-2 Pioneer UaV, the shadow 600. its army follows the
Bulgarian military in acquiring the Phoenix 30, with sofia also having
acquired four examples.