First MH-60 Digital Cockpit completed for Australian Romeo helicopter
NewsMarch 04, 2013
AVALON, Australia. Lockheed Martin engineers finished the 400th Common Cockpit avionics suite for the U.S. Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter program. The digital cockpit will be integrated on the first of 24 MH-60R (Romeo) anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters to be procured by the Royal Australian navy through the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program.
The Common Cockpit avionics include four large, flat-panel, multi-function, color displays that are night-vision-compatible. The cockpit processes and manages communications and sensor data that is streaming into the helicopters, providing to the crew of three with actionable information that reduces workload while increasing situational awareness, Lockheed Martin officials say.
The digital, all glass cockpit is common to both platforms and enables interoperability between MH-60 aircraft operated by both the Australian and U.S. navies," Lockheed Martin officials say.
Australia is the first international customer to purchase the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R multi-mission helicopter, which first became operational in 2006. The first mission-ready MH-60R helicopter is expected to be transfered to the Royal Australian navy early next year. All 24 Australian aircraft are expected to be delivered by mid 2016.
Acquiring the "24 multi-mission Romeo helicopters means that we will have the capacity to provide at least eight warships with a combat helicopter at the same time, and we can rely on the Common Cockpit to successfully network and communicate with our fleet,” says Capt Scott Lockey, Project Director for the Australian MH-60R program.
