A typical Seahawk mission involves up to three hours of low level operations over the sea, day or night, in all weather conditions, often recovering to a ship's deck which pitches and rolls dramatically in heavy seas, and is generally wet with spray. The Seahawk's sensors include: search radar, magnetic anomaly detector and sonics processing for both active and passive sonobuoys. Both forward-looking infra-red and electronic support measures are also to be fitted. The Seahawk's main weapon is the Mk46 anti-submarine torpedo. Sixteen are currently in use. They have a crew of tree, a pilot, a tactical coordinator and a sensor operator. Their maximum speed is 270 kilometres per hour, with a range of 1,295 kilometres, and a service Ceiling of 12,000 feet. Their rate of climb is 1,650 feet per minute. They are armed with two Mk46 Torpedoes and one 7.62 machine gun. |