Greece to receive first 3 of 7 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters in 2024

A Lockheed Martin statement said Sikorsky had completed the testing of the integrated mission systems and sensors aboard three MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the Hellenic Navyearly in December 2023, and confirmed that each helicopter is ready to perform anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions from land or naval ship.

Greece placed separate orders for MH-60R aircraft - four in July 2020, and three in April 2021 - as a Foreign Military Sales purchase with the US government. After delivery of the first three, the remaining four will arrive in 2025, the manufacturer said.

Hellenic Navy MH-60R aircraft will join 11 existing S-70B Seahawk aircraft at the Kotroni Naval Air Station, near Marathonas in East Attica. Known as 'Aegean Hawks', the older maritime helicopters were acquired direct from Sikorsky between 1994 and 2005.

Greece is the seventh country to receive the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R maritime helicopter. In Europe, Denmark operates nine MH-60R aircraft. Spain and Norway placed orders in 2023 for a combined 14 MH-60R aircraft.

"Commonality of these Hellenic Navy MH-60R  Seahawk aircraft with 330 MH-60R and 250 MH-60S Seahawk aircraft, and with the global Black Hawk helicopter fleet, enables Sikorsky and the US Navy to continue sustaining and upgrading this proven weapon system for maximum threat deterrence and operational capability," Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo said.