US Navy MH-60R Patch — The Fleet's Submarine Killer If there's a submarine hiding anywhere in the world's oceans, the Romeo is the helicopter they send to find it. The MH-60R Seahawk — universally known as the "Romeo" — is the U.S. Navy's premier multi-mission maritime helicopter and widely regarded as the most advanced naval helicopter in the world. Built by Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin to replace both the SH-60B and SH-60F Seahawk variants, the MH-60R combines decades of rotary-wing naval aviation evolution into a single airframe capable of deploying from any air-capable ship in the fleet — frigates, destroyers, cruisers, littoral combat ships, and aircraft carriers alike. The Romeo's first flight came in July 2001, and the aircraft became operational with the fleet in 2006. Its primary missions are anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, armed with Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, .50-caliber guns, and an advanced sensor suite that includes the APS-147 multimode radar, the AN/AQS-22 airborne low-frequency dipping sonar, sonobuoy processing, electronic support measures, and — beginning in 2020 — a digital magnetic anomaly detector for tracking submarines beneath the waves. All former Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light (HSL) squadrons transitioned to Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) squadrons as they received the MH-60R between 2006 and 2015, making the Romeo the backbone of the Navy's deployed rotary-wing combat power. With over 350 aircraft delivered to the U.S. Navy and allied navies including Australia, Denmark, South Korea, India, and Spain, the MH-60R is the standard by which every other naval helicopter is measured. Perfect For: MH-60R aircrewmen and pilots, HSM squadron members, former HSL veterans, Seahawk maintainers, and anyone who hunts submarines for a living.
