First Production StrikeHawk Conducts First Flight

Released on Thursday, August 04, 2005

The first new production MH-60R took to the skies July 28 at the Sikorsky Aircraft facility in Stratford, Connecticut. The aircraft flew a total of 1.5 hours and performed the entire flight acceptance profile, which included flight control checks, vibration measurements and engine power checks, without incident.

The MH-60R is the next generation submarine hunter and surface attack helicopter. It will replace the fleet's legacy SH-60B and SH-60F aircraft. The Navy is expected to order as many as 254 MH-60R aircraft through 2015, with production quantities increasing to 30 aircraft per year.

Lockheed Martin is the mission systems integrator for the MH-60R, and also provides the digital Common Cockpit avionics suite, which is common to all MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters. Sikorsky designs and manufactures the MH-60S and MH-60R aircraft and is responsible for the mechanical and electrical modifications on the airframe.

Test MH-60R aircraft have been in Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) since May. Designed as a rigorous assessment of the aircraft and its mission systems in operational flight conditions, OPEVAL is the aircraft's final test phase before fleet introduction and delivery. The aircraft successfully completed the Navy's six-month-long developmental test phase, known as Technical Evaluation, in February.