The two upgraded SH-3H Sea King helicopters will be based at the Comandante Espora Naval Air Base.
The Argentine government has selected Carson Helicopters as the preferred supplier for two upgraded SH-3H Sea King helicopters to be incorporated into the Argentine Navy to perform logistic support tasks at the Comandante Espora Naval Air Base.
The contract is worth $12 million according to Alert 5.
As reported by Aviacionline, the favored supplier is Carson Helicopters, a company that commercializes the S-61T (Triton)/ Super SH-3 from S-61/ Sea King cells that were extensively refurbished and modernized. The original Sikorsky helicopters are refurbished for a number of specific applications in search and rescue, firefighting, troop transport, external lift, and maritime patrol missions by the company’s upgrade program.
Among the major improvements included there are main rotor blades and a state-of-the-art glass cockpit, while modular wiring, which increase the aircraft’s performance, robustness, and reliability. These improvements provide increased payload, combined with reduced pilot fatigue and aircraft maintenance, increasing overall safety.
Maintenance training courses for eight technicians and the logistics package of spares and rotables for the first two years or 500 flight hours of the helicopters are included in the contract.
As the following picture shows a major improvement of the Sea Kings to be acquired is related to their avionics, as they will be equipped with a Full Glass Cockpit provided by Genesis Aerosystems:
The cockpit has four IDU-680 EFIS displays with redundant quad FMS, moving maps, synthetic vision, and a fully integrated EICAS. The avionics suite also features an automatic direction-finding system, a distance measurement system, an integrated digital audio/radio management system, and a helicopter interior audio control.
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was a landmark design, being the first ASW helicopter to take advantage of turboshaft engines, as well as being the first amphibious helicopter in the world. Introduced in 1961, it served with the United States Navy, and remains in service in many countries around the world. The Sea King has been built under license in Italy and Japan, and in the United Kingdom as the Westland Sea King.
Photo credit: Ted Quackenbush via Wikipedia and Carson Helicopters
