Norway signs for MH-60R helicopters

Norway is to receive six MH-60R helicopters from 2025 to 2027. (US Navy)

Norway has signed for Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters, with a contract placed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 26 October.

The USD364.3 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract covers six helicopters to be delivered to the Norwegian government from 2025 to 2027.

Notification on the contract came months after the US State Department approved the sale in April. Including mission equipment, related kit, training, and support, the total procurement is valued at approximately USD1 billion.

Norway announced in March that it had selected the MH-60R to replace its NHIndustries (NHI) NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) ASW/SAR rotorcraft. The decision to retire the NH90 fleet was taken in 2022, with Norwegian Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram saying the platform “will never [meet] the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces”.

The six MH-60Rs will replace 14 NH90s. While Norway is acquiring fewer MH-60Rs than the NH90s they are replacing, Gram said that the difference in numbers will be made up by using other capabilities to achieve the same effects, such as unmanned aircraft.

The future base for the Seahawk will be at Bardufoss, in the far north of Norway.