New Zealand has
ordered ten Kaman Super Seasprite 2G(I) helicopters for its navy. These
will cost $12 million each. In service since the 1990s, the Super
Seasprite is an upgrade of the older (1960s era) Seasprite. The U.S.
Navy was the major user of the original Seasprite and retired the last
of them in 1993. The only other user was New Zealand. The U.S. Navy
ordered 24 Super Seasprites in the 1990s, but eventually settled on
navalized versions of the UH-60 Black Hawk for most of its needs.
The
U.S. sold two of its Super Seasprites to New Zealand, which liked them.
Australia, on the other hand, bought some Super Seasprites in the late
1990s and had lots of problems. These were fixed, but not in time to
keep Australia as a customer. Meanwhile New Zealand had been operating
Super Seasprites since 2001 and was satisfied with their performance.
Egypt and Poland also operate Super Seasprites.
The Super Seasprite is a six ton helicopter that usually
operates with a crew of three (pilot, co-pilot and crew chief or senor
operator). It can carry about two tons and has a cruise speed of 220
kilometers an hour. The Super Seasprite can stay in the air for about
four hours per sortie. It is used for search and rescue and
anti-submarine work and is able to carry anti-submarine torpedoes.
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