South Korea approves purchase of Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense has approved a plan to purchase an additional batch of Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk multi-role maritime helicopters.

This second tranche is expected to include 24 aircraft, which will join the 12 units currently in service. The acquisition aims to replace the Leonardo Super Lynx Mk 99 helicopters presently in use. Following a U.S. Department of State approval of the request earlier this year, an intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) may be signed in the coming weeks, potentially bringing the total fleet to 36 helicopters.

Notably, ongoing work is being conducted to integrate the K745 Blue Shark lightweight torpedoes with the MH-60R Seahawk at South Korea's request. This would mark the first time such integration has occurred within the program, as previous purchases of these American helicopters were exclusively bundled with RTX Mk 54 torpedoes.