PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Buying MH-60Rs rather than rebuilding SH-60s will offer significant cost savings
The US Navy is recommending to service chiefs that it abandon plans to remanufacture 243 SikorskySH-60R Seahawks in favour of producing brand new MH-60R multi-mission naval helicopters to avoid further cost and schedule overruns and generate through-life support savings.
As part of the 2002 defence budget amendment, the USN has been asked to submit a revised schedule for manufacturing newly designated MH-60Rs rather than rebuilding the SH-60B/F andHH-60H fleets. The result is likely to be a reduced number of low rate initial production machines and a further slip in the full rate production decision to early 2005.
According to a source "the programme as it stood presented an unlimited upside in terms of schedule and risk. The navy could not give any guarantees on the condition of the aircraft and the cost of remanufacturing." The financial case for building new is further reinforced by "several billion dollars worth" of projected support savings over the life of the programme.
The SH-60R would have retained the helicopter's General Electric T700-701C turboshaft engine, dynamic components, landing gear and tail, totalling 70,000 existing parts that the USN would have had to continue to track. The helicopters will instead receive all new improved components, including the powerplant.
As an all-new helicopter, the MH-60R leaves the door open in the long term for the USN to join the US Army's planned Common Engine Programme earmarked for the UH-60X. The USN along with the US Air Force continues to maintain a dialogue with the army, but wants to avoid committing to the new 2,230kW(3,000shp)to avoid further complicating the Seahawk programme, which is already 30 months late (Flight International, January 23-29).
The navy's planned buy of new MH-60Rs remains unchanged from original goal of 243 helicopters, but by electing to build from new rather remanufacturing it avoids the disruption of having large numbers of machines out of service at any one time. Unchanged are plans to equip the new helicopter with a new sensor suite and glass cockpit common to the MH-60S utility version.
Source: Flight International