From: Harold Brattland <habrattland@arvig.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 9:43 AM
Check out this site https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/lockheed-reveals-extended-range-seahawk-concept-proposals
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Lockheed Reveals Extended-Range Seahawk Concept Proposals
Steve Trimble January 13, 2026
MH-60R Seahawk
Credit: MixPix/Alamy
Lockheed Martin is developing two concepts for greatly extending the range of the Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk to offer to the U.S. Navy as alternatives to the crewed helicopter in the Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) family.
The Advanced Single Main Rotor (A-SMR) concept proposes adding a hybrid-electric drivetrain to increase the range to 500 nm from the Seahawk’s current maximum of 220 nm.
The Enhanced Single Main Rotor (E-SMR), by contrast, keeps the current drivetrain configuration and achieves greater range by reducing weight to add fuel. The E-SMR extends the maximum range to 280 nm.
“We put together a number of options for the Navy,” Eric Schreiber, Lockheed’s director of business development for maritime systems, told Aviation Week on Jan. 12.
The range data was displayed on a screen inside Lockheed’s Global Vision Center, which the company opened to journalists on the eve of the Surface Navy Association’s annual convention in Arlington, Virginia.
Both concepts provide a path for Lockheed to replace the current Seahawk fleet if the Navy requires the crewed FVL-MS aircraft to fit inside the hangars of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
The coaxial-rotor design of the high-speed and long-range Sikorsky X2 technology precludes fitting inside those hangars without major modifications.
The Navy plans to replace the submarine-hunting and maritime-patrolling Seahawk fleet in the next decade with a family of crewed and uncrewed helicopters.
