South Korea selects MH-60R for follow-on naval helicopter buy

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said the country has approved a follow-on acquisition of Sikorsky MH-60R naval helicopters. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Committee, which chose the type on the basis of a purchase test evaluation and negotiations.

The aircraft fall under the Maritime Operations Helicopter 2 requirement. According to the agency, the MH-60R offers longer endurance than the Lynx it will replace and can carry a new low-frequency dipping sonar.

The helicopters will be bought through the United States government's Foreign Military Sales process. No quantity was disclosed. The programme carries a budget of KRW3.24 trillion, or roughly $2.5 billion, and is scheduled to run from 2025 to 2032. Plans to replace the Lynx were first announced in December 2023.

In May 2026, Washington approved an FMS case covering 24 MH-60Rs plus associated equipment and services, valued at $3 billion.

The navy already fields 12 MH-60Rs obtained under the earlier MOH requirement. That type entered service in April.

Analytics firm Cirium lists 24 Lynx Mk.99 and Mk.99A helicopters in navy service with an average age of 30.7 years, along with eight AW159 rotorcraft averaging about 10 years old.

The committee also made unspecified changes to a vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle project, which aims to develop a locally built platform for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work. The agency said VTOL capability matters given the country's mountainous terrain, and that the new UAV is intended to have ISR performance four times that of existing fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.