New Zealand is buying five MH-60R Seahawks through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program to replace its Seasprite fleet, with NZ$1.65 billion in capital funding and deliveries starting in 2030.
New Zealand has signed an agreement with the U.S. government to buy five MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters, the country’s Ministry of Defence announced Oct. 16, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2030.
The New Zealand MH-60R Seahawk purchase, made through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, covers the helicopters, associated systems and weapons, spares and equipment, according to the ministry’s announcement. The project carries NZ$1.648 billion in capital funding.
The ministry also announced operating funding averaging NZ$110 million a year over the next 10 years. That money is separate from the capital figure.
The announcement did not specify when or where the agreement was signed, or who signed it.
Replacing the Seasprite
The Seahawks will replace New Zealand’s SH-2G(I) Seasprite fleet, according to the ministry’s maritime helicopter replacement project page. The government announced on Aug. 21, 2025, that it would begin negotiating the purchase through Foreign Military Sales, under which Washington sells defense equipment to foreign governments in a government-to-government arrangement.
The New Zealand Defence Force said the helicopters will be interoperable with Australia and other partner defense forces. It also said they will extend the surveillance reach and the offensive and defensive capabilities of the navy’s frigates.
Royal New Zealand Navy aircrew will fly the Seahawks, and Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel will maintain them, the NZDF said.
The military listed the helicopter’s intended missions as anti-surface and underwater warfare, search and rescue, maritime counterterrorism, and moving personnel and supplies between ship and shore.
From US approval to signed agreement
The October agreement follows a U.S. arms-sale notification that estimated the value of a possible sale at US$1.5 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency report reached Congress on June 4, and the notice appeared in the Federal Register on July 22.
The June estimate and New Zealand’s October funding describe different stages of the process and different amounts. The two figures are not directly comparable.
The notification named Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems in Owego, New York, as principal contractor. The Seahawk is built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.
The weapons and sensors requested in June included:
- 225 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) missiles and 225 WGU-59A/B APKWS II guidance sections
- 65 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles
- Five airborne low-frequency sonar systems
- Five digital magnetic anomaly detection systems
Those were requested quantities. Final quantities under the October agreement have not been publicly confirmed.
Janes reported that Washington approved the possible Seahawk sale on June 5. On the same day, it approved a separate possible sale of 20 Mk 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedo all-up rounds with support, valued at US$69 million.
The NZDF’s Oct. 16 specifications list Mk 54 torpedoes among the Seahawk’s weapons. It has not been confirmed whether that separate torpedo case has been signed or how its cost relates to the October funding.
Speed, range and crew
The MH-60R carries a crew of three and has a maximum speed of 180 knots, according to NZDF specifications. The NZDF lists a range of 520 nautical miles.
The Royal Australian Navy lists a range of 470 nautical miles for its MH-60Rs. Neither service ties its figure to a specific configuration or mission profile.
The NZDF lists the SH-2G(I) Seasprite at an approximate maximum airspeed of 130 knots and an approximate maximum range of 275 nautical miles. Those are published specifications, not results of a side-by-side flight test.
Washington’s position
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed New Zealand’s decision to choose the Seahawk as its preferred option to replace its maritime helicopter fleet when he met New Zealand Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry in Washington on Feb. 2, according to a joint statement released the next day. Both officials backed investment in interoperable defense capabilities, the statement said.
No U.S. government statement specifically addressing the October agreement, and no independent analyst assessment of it, had been located as of Oct. 19.
What comes next
The ministry said the funding covers future infrastructure design and temporary housing at RNZAF Base Auckland in Whenuapai.
“Future investment decisions relating to this programme of work are expected to include infrastructure, training systems and complementary uncrewed aerial systems,” the Ministry of Defence said in its announcement.
Dates for initial operational capability, the final delivery, full fleet readiness and the Seasprite’s withdrawal from service have not been confirmed.
Seasprite fleet and regional operators
The NZDF’s equipment page lists five operational Seasprites. When the government approved the Seasprite project in 2013, the purchase covered eight aircraft plus two spare airframes. Those figures measure different things: one counts aircraft bought, the other counts aircraft currently operational.
Across the Tasman Sea, the Royal Australian Navy’s website lists 23 MH-60Rs in service and 13 on order. A February 2025 release from Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the 13 additional aircraft would be delivered by the end of 2026. Whether that target has been met has not been confirmed.
Sikorsky Australia marked a decade of operations at its sustainment facility in Nowra, New South Wales, in a release dated Oct. 15. The company said Australia’s Seahawk fleet had logged more than 60,000 flying hours and that the facility supported more than 100 components.
The company also said Nowra is one of four facilities able to maintain the Seahawk’s advanced low-frequency dipping sonar. The other three are two sites in the U.S. and one in Japan.
Cliff Kyle, general manager of Sikorsky Australia, credited the company’s collaborative, mission-focused culture. “As a result, Sikorsky Australia has become an integral partner in the Seahawk enterprise,” he said in the release.
No announcement has assigned sustainment of New Zealand’s Seahawks to the Nowra facility.
Key Takeaways
- New Zealand signed an agreement with the U.S. government for five MH-60R Seahawks, announced Oct. 16.
- Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2030.
- The project carries NZ$1.648 billion in capital funding, plus operating funding averaging NZ$110 million a year over 10 years.
- The helicopters will replace the SH-2G(I) Seasprite fleet and be flown by navy aircrew and maintained by air force personnel.
- Final weapons quantities under the October agreement have not been publicly confirmed.