Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company has delivered the first of 45 replacement MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter airframes to the U.S. Coast Guard, launching a 10-year program to extend the service life of the Coast Guard’s existing MH-60T fleet, and continue flying life-saving missions into the 2040s.
The first MH-60T helicopter to receive the new airframe, consisting of nose, cabin and aft transition structures combined as a single assembly, will be rebuilt at the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, starting in December 2023.
Over the past 33 years, the ALC has maintained and repaired the Jayhawk helicopter fleet up to the airframe’s maximum operational life limit of 20,000 flight hours.
According to the Coast Guard, the H-60 Jayhawk medium range recovery helicopter fleet has saved more than 11,900 lives during more than 48,300 search and rescue missions since 1990, accumulating more than 730,430 flight hours.
Why it Matters
- After more than 30 years in operation, the fleet of 45 MH-60T helicopters is approaching its useful life limit of 20,000 flight hours, with a per aircraft average of 16,000 hours.
- To extend the service life of these aircraft, the Coast Guard ALC will remove all dynamic (moving) components, digital cockpit, mission systems and engines, then rebuild each aircraft around an all-new airframe.
By the Numbers
Sikorsky is under a $374 million contract to deliver all 45 MH-60T airframes to the Coast Guard ALC through 2027 at a rate of 12 per year.
On Oct. 31, 2023, the Coast Guard authorized Sikorsky to begin full rate production with the fourth airframe.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
