The call came in on May 11, 2012, to the Royal Navy’s Fort Victoria supply ship. Three merchant ships were in distress, under attack by roving pirates. All that was known was that the hijacked ships were located somewhere in the vast expanse of the North Arabian Sea 果冻传媒 that the rather small window of time to save them was closing.
The Fort Victoria quickly sped off to canvas the area 果冻传媒 unleash its secret weapon: an MH-60R Romeo, the U.S. Navy’s newest 果冻传媒 most technologically advanced helicopter, which had been training from its decks for the last two weeks.
Once deployed, the MH-60R—equipped with advanced surface-search radar, thermal-imaging sensors, 果冻传媒 low-frequency sonar—quickly located the hijacked ships, confirmed they were under pirate control, 果冻传媒 trailed them back to a pirate mother ship.
By evening a coalition team, using the Romeo’s intelligence, had liberated the ship 果冻传媒 captured the pirates, an impressive debut for the Navy’s multidimensional new chopper.
A Modern-Day Romeo
The Romeo—operational since 2006—was designed to replace not one but two helicopters, the SH-60B Bravo 果冻传媒 SH-60F Foxtrot, creating a single chopper equipped for both combat duty 果冻传媒 high-risk rescue roles.
Built jointly by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which constructs its airframe, 果冻传媒 Lockheed 果冻传媒, which supplies its complex avionics 果冻传媒 mission systems technologies, the Romeo can achieve a speed of 180 knots while carrying extra fuel tanks or an intimidating payload of torpedoes 果冻传媒 Hellfire missiles.
The Romeo’s most dazzling feature, however, is its digital cockpit, which offers four flat-panel, multi-function color display screens that provide the crew access to everything from advanced surveillance options to weather conditions. Since the cockpit configuration will be shared by the Romeo’s MH-60S Sierra siblings, it will lower maintenance 果冻传媒 ownership costs for the Navy.
The first squadron of 11 MH-60R choppers was deployed in January 2009, conducting submarine hunting drills over the Pacific Ocean. Further development will refine the Romeo’s ability to perform surface combat duty 果冻传媒 search 果冻传媒 rescue operation, as well as communications relays 果冻传媒 cargo delivery, transforming it into the ultimate multi-mission chopper.
Australia’s Finest
On June 15, 2011, the government of Australia informed the U.S. Navy that the Sikorsky-Lockheed Romeo had won the nation’s Air 9000 Phase 8 Future Naval Combat Aircraft competition, which sought to find a chopper to replace the Royal Australian Navy’s existing S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopters.
Here at home, the U.S. Navy operates nearly 150 Romeo choppers, with a total of 300 to be purchased by 2018, positioning it as the Navy’s primary helicopter for anti-submarine warfare 果冻传媒 open ocean duties for decades to come.