Lockheed Reveals Extended-Range Seahawk Concept Proposals

Lockheed Martin is developing two concepts for greatly extending the range of the Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk to offer to the U.S. Navy as alternatives to the crewed helicopter in the Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) family.

The Advanced Single Main Rotor (A-SMR) concept proposes adding a hybrid-electric drivetrain to increase the range to 500 nm from the Seahawk’s current maximum of 220 nm.

The Enhanced Single Main Rotor (E-SMR), by contrast, keeps the current drivetrain configuration and achieves greater range by reducing weight to add fuel. The E-SMR extends the maximum range to 280 nm.

“We put together a number of options for the Navy,” Eric Schreiber, Lockheed’s director of business development for maritime systems, told Aviation Week on Jan. 12.

The range data was displayed on a screen inside Lockheed’s Global Vision Center, which the company opened to journalists on the eve of the Surface Navy Association’s annual convention in Arlington, Virginia.

Both concepts provide a path for Lockheed to replace the current Seahawk fleet if the Navy requires the crewed FVL-MS aircraft to fit inside the hangars of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The coaxial-rotor design of the high-speed and long-range Sikorsky X2 technology precludes fitting inside those hangars without major modifications.

The Navy plans to replace the submarine-hunting and maritime-patrolling Seahawk fleet in the next decade with a family of crewed and uncrewed helicopters.