Eighteen naval aviators and two aircrew members from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) have completed training on the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter Saudi Arabia is buying.
The graduates marked the completion of the training with a winging ceremony with the US Navy’s “Air Wolves” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 40 on November 12.
International training, such as what the RSNF students experienced, is coordinated through the Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity (NETSAFA). Much of the preparatory training that these students complete, in pursuit of their designation as aviators and aircrewmen, takes place at the NETSAFA International Training Center (NITC).
In this case, the RSNF students completed an overall pipeline of training to prepare them for flight operations in the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter, which provides the capability to identify, engage, and defeat maritime security threats along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia purchased 10 MH-60R helicopters for its naval forces under a contract from 2015.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, the MH-60R was purchased by the navies of Australia and Denmark, while potential customers include South Korea and Greece.
