The first two of 24 MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters have been accepted into RAN service in a ceremony held at NAS Jacksonville in Florida on January 24.
The aircraft were handed over to the RAN at Lockheed Martin’s Owego NY facility in December before being flown to Jacksonville where they will be based with US Navy units to support NUSQN725 as it trains its first cadre of pilots, aviation warfare officers, and maintainers there.
“Today is a proud day for our Squadron,” Commanding Officer CMDR David Frost said at the ceremony. “Not only are we celebrating a significant milestone for the aircraft, we have a chance to reflect on how much we have achieved over the past year. During 2013, NUSQN 725 officers and sailors have worked hard to master the skills needed to fly and maintain the MH-60R.”
A further five machines are due to join the unit at Jacksonville before it relocates at the end of this year to new dedicated facilities currently under construction at HMAS Albatross at Nowra.
Raymond
says:What a wonderfully fast and successful MOTS program.