MH-60R Seahawk, one of the primary anti-submarine platforms in use by the U.S. Navy. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems has been awarded a $27 million modification to an existing contract for the procurement of retrofitting kits for the 60 Automatic Radar Periscope Detect and Discrimination program.

The modification provides for 11 standard and 5 SEED kits for the program with the work primarily taking place in Farmingdale, N.Y and Oswego, N.Y. The production run is expected to be completed by Oct. 2020.


The H-60 Automatic Radar Periscope Detect and Discrimination program is a series of radar upgrades for use on MH-60 Seahawk helicopters to help spot and discriminate enemy submarine periscopes.

Periscopes by design are difficult to detect due to their small size and short time on the surface, especially in high radar clutter environments and rough seas. Periscopes are used by submarines to visually identify and track targets and can mount radars and other sensors of their own.

ARPDD has been in use since 2009 and has been upgraded several times. It is one of the few systems available that are capable of identifying and tracking submarine periscopes.