First of the Navy's New SH-2G(I) Seasprites Made its First Flight at RNZAF Base

The first of the Royal New Zealand Navy's new SH-2G(I) Seasprites made its first flight at RNZAF Base Auckland. Whenuapai.
defense-studies

New Zealand Accepts First SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite

Kaman that the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) has accepted the first SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite helicopter for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)Kaman’s Bloomfield, Connecticut facility.
Kaman and the MoD entered into a $120 million contract in May 2013 for the purchase of ten SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite aircraft, spare parts, a full mission flight simulator, and related logistics support. Additional aircraft are scheduled to be accepted by the MoD in the next few weeks. The first three aircraft are projected to arrive in Auckland in early 2015 with the remaining deliveries of helicopters and equipment expected to occur by the end of 2015.
The SH-2G Super Seasprite is an advanced maritime weapon system and proven day/night/all-weather multi-mission helicopter. Originally designed to meet the exacting requirements of the U.S. Navy, the SH-2G Super Seasprite has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any maritime helicopter, assuring a safe return-to-ship capability even in single-engine flight conditions. Its robust design, outstanding stability, and excellent reliability have been proven through more than 1.5 million flight hours. The SH-2G is a multi-mission maritime weapon system designed to fulfill anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), over the horizon targeting, surveillance, troop transport, vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and utility missions. It is the largest, most powerful small ship helicopter in use today and is recognized for its mission effectiveness, support, and unmatched performance. The SH-2G Super Seasprite is currently operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Egyptian Air Force and the Polish Navy.
kaman

Peruvian Navy to acquire Super Seasprite helos from Canada

Peru has awarded General Dynamics Canada a contract to upgrade four Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters - formerly in service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) - with integrated mission systems and to overhaul a fifth prior to delivery to the Peruvian Navy.
The upgrades will offer "enhanced surveillance and search-and-rescue capabilities" by leveraging technology developed by GD Canada for the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF's) Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone anti-submarine warfare (ASW), surveillance, and search-and-rescue helicopter. The RCAF is replacing its ageing Sikorsky SH-3 Sea Kings with Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclones.
The contract was signed on 9 October.
The SH-2G acquisition marks an important boost for the Peruvian Navy's embarked ASW capabilities, which currently consists of only two Sikorsky SH-3D and two AB 212ASW helicopters, all four with more than 30 years in service.
These incoming SH-2Gs had been in service with the RNZAF since 2001 before being acquired by General Dynamics Air Canada.
Meanwhile, the RNZAF Super Seasprite fleet is being replaced by eight former Australian SH-2G(I), the first of which performed its maiden flight last April.
janes

Royal New Zealand Navy new SH-2G(I) undergos test flights with Penguin missile

The new Royal Zealand Navy SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite helicopter is undergoing test-flights at Kaman fitted with one of the powerful Penguin missiles these helicopters will use.
Ten of these machines are on order to replace the existing five Seasprites.
The first should arrive late this year with all in service by 2016.
defense-studies

New Zealand buys choppers rejected by Australia

The New Zealand government has approved spending $200 million on buying eight navy helicopters rejected by Australia for reasons including concerns about safety.
The eight new Super Seasprites will replace the New Zealand navy's existing fleet of five ageing Seasprites, NZ Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman said today. The first three will arrive late next year.
Australia tried for more than 10 years to resolve operations problems with Seasprites, ordered for the navy's Anzac frigates, but cancelled an order for 11 of the helicopters in 2008.

theaustralian.com

New Zealand Considers Super Seasprite Helicopters for Navy Requirement

The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) is undertaking a final review of SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters that were previously rejected by the Australian government, in support of a formal bid for the aircraft.

defense-studies

KAMAN INTENTA VENDER LOS SH-2 QUE RECHAZÓ AUSTRALIA/KAMAN TO SELL 11 SH-2

La compañia está esforzándos en vender 11 SH-2G Super Seasprite modernizados, que permanecen almacenados en las instalaciones de Kaman en Bloomfield campus, a pesar de haber sido recibidos y rechazados por Australia. El presidente de Kaman, los ha valorado a un tercio de lo que costaría un helicóptero moderno actual.
Australia pagó unos 600 millones USD por los helicópteros, incluyendo repuestos, simulador y soporte técnico. Pero fueron devueltos por no cumplir las estipulaciones marcadas en el contrato respecto al software, sin recuperar gran parte del dinero. Esto fue reconocido por Kaman, que culpó a un subcontratista, aunque dice que los trabajos ya han sido finalizados. Australia tambien desconfiaba de la seguridad del modelo, pero Kaman alegó que Estados Unidos ha operado sin problemas versiones mas antiguas durante años sin problemas graves. Además, Kaman señala que Australia no disponía de los buques adecuados para operar el SH-2.
De todas formas ,Kaman perdonó mas de 30 millones USD a Australia, además de comprometerse a devolver otros 25, vendiera los aparatos o no.
En otoño de 2008, un SH-2 fue mostrado en el Black Sea Defense and Aerospace Exhibition and Conference, en Bucarest, Rumania. en otoño de 2008, para advertir de la disponibilidad.
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The company is struggling to resell a batch of its own helicopters, 11 sophisticated, just-barely secondhand SH-2G Super Seasprites. Today, ten of the submarine-hunting aircraft rest side by side in a warehouse on Kaman's 200-acre Bloomfield campus, their 44-foot main rotors stowed in airtight canisters and other parts packed and neatly stacked beside them. (The 11th, a demonstration aircraft, is kept elsewhere on the campus.)
It's a rare case in which a global aerospace supplier is marketing the same military equipment a second time — after the government of Australia backed out of a long-sealed deal — and can offer it almost immediately.
Sal Bordonaro, president of Kaman's helicopters division, put the price at "one-third the cost of a comparable aircraft."
The Australians paid about $600 million for the aircraft, including spare parts, a flight simulator, service support and other materials. But after a long dispute, Australia reached a settlement in early 2008 to return all 11 aircraft — without recouping much of its investment.
Australia complained that Kaman failed to deliver the aircraft's advanced software systems on schedule. Kaman acknowledges this, attributing the delay to a subcontractor, and says the work has since been completed.
The company denies that the aircraft were ever unsafe, as some in Australia alleged, and Kaman said the U.S. military operated an earlier version for decades without any serious problems. The company also pointed out that Australia never acquired the type of naval ships that were to serve as the Seasprites' platform.
As part of the 2008 settlement, Kaman forgave more than $30 million that Australia still owed, and promised to pay the nation about $25 million regardless of whether Kaman is able to resell the aircraft.
Kaman took a Seasprite to the Black Sea Defense and Aerospace Exhibition and Conference in Bucharest, Romania, in the fall of 2008 to advertise its availability, and has since entertained potential buyers in Bloomfield for test flights.