- The U.S. Navy is commencing its MH-60 Tailorable Architecture Leveraging Open-systems prototype program
- The military branch entered into a joint cooperative agreement with the Royal Australian Navy
- Industry partners include Sierra Nevada Corp., Lockheed Martin, Collins Aerospace and Technology Security Associates
The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday that its H-60 Multi-Mission Helicopter program office, known as PMA-299, is collaborating with the Royal Australian Navy for the MH-60 Tailorable Architecture Leveraging Open-systems prototype project, or TALON.
The joint cooperative effort marks the first phase of a Statement of Work collaboration for TALON, which is aimed at overhauling the MH-60 aircraft’s avionics and mission system architecture while addressing obsolescence challenges.
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What Are the Goals and Objectives of the TALON Project?
TALON is intended to produce a cost-effective technology capable of responding quickly to emerging threats, adjusting to evolving fleet needs and sustaining the MH-60 through 2050. Program officials said the initiative’s emphasis on collaborative digital engineering and open-system design is expected to help U.S. and allied maritime forces stay ahead of global threats.
By leveraging modern digital acquisition practices alongside Modular Open Systems Approach standards, TALON is designed to support key MH-60 business drivers while also streamlining development of the Future Vertical Lift (Maritime Strike) program through a portable, core open architecture.
Who Are the Companies Participating in the TALON Effort?
To carry out the MH-60 modernization plan, the government is relying on an other transaction authority agreement facilitated through the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium. The approach brings industry partners into three distinct roles supporting the effort.
Sierra Nevada Corp. has been identified as the lead aircraft integrator responsible for the physical and structural integration work on the MH-60S, or Sierra, variant, while Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems will take on the equivalent integration role for the MH-60R, or Romeo, variant.
For the segment lead integrator role covering the Flight Critical Avionics segment and Digital Backbone system, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems and Collins Aerospace and have been identified to lead hardware and software architecture design, interface management and system-level software integration.
Technology Security Associates, a JHNA company, has been identified to serve as the open system verification demonstration third-party integrator. The company will support the U.S. government’s evaluation of how the segment integrators apply the modular open systems approach across the FCAS and DBB.
The U.S. Navy noted that these identifications do not represent formal contract or agreement awards. Any such awards will depend on successful negotiation and finalization of Phase 1 statements of work, which will focus on the preliminary design of FCAS and DBB. That work will range from physical integration to preparation for aircraft-level testing.
Phase 2 will shift focus to prototype development and verification activities.
What Are the MH-60R and MH-60S Aircraft?
The MH-60R and MH-60S variants serve distinct roles within the fleet. The MH-60R is used for anti-submarine, surface and electronic warfare, as well as command and control missions. Meanwhile, the MH-60S supports anti-surface warfare, combat search and rescue, special warfare services and airborne mine countermeasure operations.
