On Monday, September 10, the Argentine Navy received two Sea King SH-3H helicopters incorporated through the National Defense Fund (FONDEF). They were transferred from the port of Bahía Blanca to the Comandante Espora Naval Air Base.
The agreement established with the North American company Carson Helicopters, based in Perkaise, Pennsylvania, includes the necessary spare parts for the maintenance of the modernized Sea Kings and training courses for pilots and technical personnel. Once the assembly and testing process is completed, the helicopters will be incorporated into the Second Naval Air Helicopter Squadron.
The incorporation of the aircraft reinforces the commitment of the Ministry of Defense and the Argentine Navy to Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, the protection of Argentine sovereignty rights in the Exclusive Economic Zone and the support to logistic and scientific activities in Antarctica, as well as to the supply of joint bases.
These aircrafts will also contribute to provide security to the embarked personnel in situations that require a sanitary evacuation from the sea to the coast, and later to land medical care centers. They will also serve to meet the training needs of the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Sea Fleet.
For the acquisition of these rotary wing aircraft, the technical characteristics of the embarked helicopters, the capabilities required to fulfill the assigned tasks and the availability of flight decks and hangars of the surface units of this Force were taken into account, which will allow the aircraft to remain embarked for long periods of time.
