Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a United States Navy helicopter that has two engines and can be employed on numerous different missions. It is derived from the United States Army's UH-60 Black Hawk. Both helicopters belong to the Sikorsky S-70 family. The Seahawk has certain unique modifications to accommodate it onto aircraft carriers. Its primary rotor blades fold, and its tail folds, so it is smaller for storage.

The U.S. Navy has flown several versions of the H-60 helicopter under the designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, and MH-60S. Built for deployment on a variety of air-capable ships—such as frigates, destroyers, cruisers, fast combat support ships, expeditionary transfer docks, amphibious assault ships, littoral combat ships, and aircraft carriers—the Seahawk performs several functions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), naval special warfare (NSW) insertion, search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).

Because of its size, the SH-60 was too big for some of the Navy's smaller ships initially, and it operated in tandem with the Kaman SH-2F and SH-2G until 2001. The early models of the Seahawk started being retired in the 2010s and 2020s, with the SH-60B retiring in 2015 after over three decades of service, followed by the SH-60F and HH-60H in 2016. These were replaced by the upgraded MH-60R and MH-60S models.

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Category:Aircraft