Taiwan’s government is seeking funding for a long-delayed plan to acquire shipboard anti-submarine helicopters from the United States, as it announces an increased defense budget for the forthcoming fiscal year.
Media outlets in Taiwan, including the Taipei Times, have reported that the Ministry of National Defense is aiming in the 11th hour to include funding to buy Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.
The media reports quote unnamed ministry sources as saying Taiwan wants to acquire up to 10 MH-60Rs spread over a number of years, and will also include weapons such as Mk 54 torpedoes, Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, and guns.
The MH-60R is the latest in a line of naval helicopters based on the S-70 Black Hawk adapted for anti-submarine, anti-ship and other sea control operations from onboard ships or land bases. The variant is equipped with systems such as the AN/APS-153 multi-mode radar that can automatically detect submarine periscopes above the ocean surface, as well as the AN/AQS-22 advanced airborne low-frequency sonar.