2.4] SEAHAWK IN FOREIGN SERVICE
* Although the Seahawk has not been exported in anywhere near the numbers of the Black Hawk, there are still a number of foreign users.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquired 16 "S-70B-2" machines, featuring an S-70B airframe and RAN-specified avionics. The avionics suite includes MEL Super Searcher X-band radar in a new, smaller radome; a CAE Electronics AN/AQS-504 internally-mounted MAD system; and AN/SSQ-81 Barra sonobuoys, along with sonar processing gear. The RAN S-70B-2s can carry Penguin or Sea Skua light antishipping missiles, and are fitted with a rescue hoist on the right side.
Eight S-70B-2s were supplied directly by Sikorsky, and eight more were supplied as kits for assembly by ASTA in Australia. Some of the RAN Seahawks saw action in the Gulf War, these machines being fitted with an AN/AAQ-16 FLIR turret and an AN/AAR-47 missile warning system.
* Greece purchased five "S-70B-6" Seahawks for operation off of Greek Navy MEKO 200 frigates. These rotorcraft feature AN/APS-143(V)3 radar plus Bendix AN/ASQ-18(V)3 dipping sonar, and can carry Penguin missiles. The S-70B-6s were delivered in the late 1990s.
* The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force acquired their own version of the SH-60B, license-built in Japan by Mitsubishi and of course designated "SH-60J", to replace license-built HSS-2B Sea Kings in JMSDF service.
The SH-60J, which has the Sikorsky company designation of "S-70B-3", has a configuration and capabilities similar to that of its SH-60B parent, but the avionics suite of the SH-60J is mostly Japanese-built. Japanese kit includes an HQS-103 dipping sonar; HPS-104 search radar; HLR-108 ESM system; as well as cockpit displays, datalink, flight management system, and ring laser gyro attitude and heading reference system.
US-built kit includes a Texas Instruments AN/ASQ-81D2(V) MAD; a General Instruments AN/ALR-66(VW) RWR; and an Edmac AN/ARR-75 sonobuoy receiver. The SH-60J does not have the SH-60B's 25-tube sonobuoy array, and presumably features a sonobuoy tube in the belly as fitted on the SH-60F. Production machines were powered by Ishikawajima-Harima T700-IHI-401C turboshafts, built under license from GE.
The initial two "XSH-60J" prototypes were delivered in stripped and broken-down form to be reassembled by Mitsubishi and fitted up with avionics systems. Initial flight of the first XSH-60J was on 31 August 1987, and the two prototypes were put through evaluation by the JMSDF. 101 production SH-60Js have been ordered, with the first performing its initial flight on 10 May 1991, with delivery to the JMSDF late that summer.
* On 8 August 2001, Mitsubishi conducted the initial flight of the first of two prototypes of an upgraded version of the SH-60J designated the "SH-60K", originally the "SH-60J Kai", where "kai" was short for "kaizen (modified)". It has a main cabin stretched by 33 centimeters (13 inches) just behind the cockpit and raised in height, with the expansion intended to accommodate a substantially revised avionics system, including a datalink.
Other new features include a glass cockpit with six color flat panel displays; defensive countermeasures, including a missile warning system and chaff-flare dispensers; carriage of depth charges and ASM-2 antiship missiles, not just torpedoes; and an improved rotor system that increases lift capacity. It is unclear how many SH-60Ks will be obtained, and whether they will be upgrades, new production, or a mix of the two.
* Spain bought 12 Seahawks that were very similar to the SH-60B, but feature Bendix AN/AQS-13F dipping sonar. They are mostly operated from Spanish Navy frigates. They were given the designation "HS.23" in Spanish service.
* Taiwan has obtained ten "S-70C(M)-1 Thunderhawks" that are similar to the SH-60F Ocean Hawk, featuring Telephonics AN/APS-128C radar; Bendix AN/AQS-18(V) dipping sonar; a Litton AN/ALR-606(V) ESM system; and searchlights. They are deployed on the six Taiwanese Navy KWANG HUA I class guided missile frigates, which are derivatives of the US Navy OLIVER HAZARD PERRY frigates. The "S-70C" designation, meaning a commercial S-70, was clearly used as a political dodge.
* The Turkish Navy bought an initial batch of eight S-70B Seahawks for ASW, surface warfare, maritime patrol, and SAR duties, with these machines operating from Turkish Navy frigates. The first Turkish Seahawk, which apparently has the designation of "S-70B-28", flew in early 2001, with deliveries for this batch beginning the same year and ending in 2002. An order for 12 more S-70Bs, presumably to the similar or same spec, followed in 2005, with initial delivery scheduled in 2008. The 2005 order also included an option for five more machines.
Although details are unclear, Thailand has obtained six (possibly seven) "S-70B-7" machines. Singapore ordered six S-70Bs for ASW operations in 2005, with deliveries from 2008 to 2010.
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