October 18, 2003
THE navy today accepted the first of 11 Seasprite helicopters for use aboard the Anzac frigates.
But it will be more than a year before they are able to use their full range of weapons and sensors.
Defence Minister Robert Hill and navy chief Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie today welcomed the handover, conducted at HMAS Albatross, Nowra, on the NSW south coast, where the navy's 805 Squadron and the Seasprites will be based.
Senator Hill said the new helicopters would be the primary anti-surface weapons systems for the navy's eight Anzac frigates with six aircraft deployed at sea at any time.
"The helicopters will be equipped with a sophisticated suite of sensors and weapons including the capability to fire the Penguin anti-ship missile and to deliver the Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo, making ir arguably the most advanced maritime helicopter in the world," he said.
Senator Hill said the handover of the helicopters would mean the navy could now start training in advance of delivery of the full weapons system capability from the end of next year.
It's excepted they will enter service from mid-2005.
The Seasprites, ordered from US company Kaman in 1997, have had a difficult birth with delivery delayed because of problems in developing the advanced computer software to operate the weapons system.
There was also controversy when it emerged the navy was buying refurbished airframes with some actually built in the mid-1960s.
Seasprite project director Captain Mark Campbell said they were effectively new-built helicopters and were fully certified for 10,000 hours flying.
"This will be a tremendous capability for the navy and ADF," he said.
"It is going to be able to perform surveillance of an enormous area of ocean. They will be capable of finding out where everyone is around the frigates at long ranges and be able to engage them if need be.
"They it will be capable of deploying various weapons including machine guns, depth charges and torpedoes. We are pretty happy with the capability that will be here by the end of next year."
Meanwhile, development work is still to be done on the software package by Kaman and Northrop-Grumman in the US and computer company CSC in Sydney and Adelaide.
Captain Campbell said the software was always regarded as the high risk area of the program.
"We are moving ahead well now and I am quite confident of getting a good program at the end of next year. There are a lot of good talented people working on it," he said.
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