In December 2020, South Korea’s largest city and capital, Seoul, revealed that plans were underway to purchase 12 Sikorsky MH-60R ASW helicopters. The contract, which was worth $878 million, was set to be completed by the end of the year, as revealed by the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
MH-60R winning this South Korean bid may be good news to the company, but it is a loss for Leonardo Helicopters. The latter, which supplies high-performance helicopters to over 150 countries worldwide had also handed in their pitch, but they did not meet the requirements.
The maritime operational helicopter (MOH) was announced back in 2017, and DAPA wanted to sign it as a direct commercial deal. They were looking for quality and foreign helicopter makers. This attracted the attention of three bidders: Italy’s Leonardo, France’s NHIndustries, and Lockheed Martin.
Under MOH’s first program, Leonardo had already delivered AW159 Wildcat helicopters to the esteemed South Korean navy. Then, there was no competition because neither NHIndustries nor Lockheed Martin submitted their bids by the given deadline.
Factually, DAPA was about to confirm that they would only go for AW159, but things changed at the last minute. With the help of the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales program, the United States government provided MH-60R’s pricing, and DAPA did not hesitate to accept the offer because they deemed it ideal at the time.
According to this recently-made deal, the South Korean Navy will receive the 12 Seahawks in several stages. All of them should have been delivered by 2025. As per the requirements of the arrangement, helicopters are not the only products that are to be provided. Seoul will also get sonobuoys, weapons, radars, and advanced communication equipment. Training and support are also part of the package.
About Fair Lifts
Providing both executive and commercial helicopter services, Fair Lifts is determined to serve you no matter your location. Some of our quality services are heavy lifting bulky materials for construction companies, picking and dropping off passengers to their hotels, and aerial surveying. We are also here for you whenever you need a government assistance helicopter for natural disaster relief during emergencies. Our executive helicopter charters are comfortable and affordable for all. We have also taken measures to ensure that you are safe even when we are flying on days when the weather is unfriendly.
Photo Credit: Source: US Navy