The SH-60 Sea Hawk is the U.S. Navy version of the UH-60 Black Hawk and is the primarily medium utility helicopter in the Navy’s fleet. The Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter. It is used for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, drug interdiction, anti-ship warfare, cargo lift, and special operations. The Navy’s SH-60B Seahawk is an airborne platform based aboard cruisers, destroyers, and frigates and deploys sonobuoys (sonic detectors) and torpedoes in an anti-submarine role. They also extend the range of the ship’s radar capabilities. The Navy’s SH-60F is carrier-based. The HH-60H, also aboard carriers and ashore, is used for search and rescue (SAR) missions. By 2015, the only models of Seahawk in the Navy will be the MH-60S and the MH-60R. Some versions, such as the Air Force’s MH-60 G Pave Hawk and the Coast Guard’s HH-60J Jayhawk, are equipped with a rescue hoist with a 250 ft cable that has a 600 lb lift capability, and a retractable in-flight refueling probe. The Army’s UH-60L Black Hawk can carry 11 soldiers or 2,600 lbs of cargo or sling load 9,000 lbs of cargo. Our SH-60F served aboard the USS Lincoln and the USS John C. Stennis in the early 2000s. It then moved to Fallon Naval Air Station as a part of the search and rescue squadron, the “Longhorns”. It was slated to be put on display at Fallon but instead came to PCAM in November 2016. This aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida.
Type: Multi-role shipborne naval helicopter
Crew: Pilot, airborne tactical officer, and sensor operator
Powerplant: Two 1,900 hp General Electric T700-GE-401C turboshafts
Dimensions: Rotor Diameter – 53 ft, 8 in
Length – 64 ft, 10 in
Height – 17 ft
Weights: Empty – 13,648 lbs
Gross – 21,884 lbs
Performance: Maximum Speed – 145 mph at 5,000 ft
Range – 170 miles w/ one hour loiter
Armament: Three Mk 46 torpedoes; AGM-114 Hellfire missiles;
AGM-119 Penguin missiles;
Rapid airborne mine clearance system;
M60, M240, GAU-16/A or GAU-17/A guns