The visit of two Spanish Seahawk helicopters to a US Navy ship

As we have seen recently, the Spanish Navy's "Dédalo" 25 Expeditionary Combat Group (GCE) is training in the United States.

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This GCE, made up of the amphibious assault ship (BAA) "Galicia" L-51 and the frigates "Canarias" F-86 and "Almirante Juan de Borbón" F-102, has been deployed for days along the East Coast of the United States within the framework of the multinational exercise Unitas 2025, in which several countries from the American continent also participate.

The Spanish Navy's Aircraft Flotilla (FLOAN) has assigned three Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters to this GCE: two SH-60F Oceanhawk transport helicopters from the 5th Squadron, operating from the L-51, and an SH-60B anti-submarine helicopter from the 10th Squadron, operating from the F-86.

FLOAN has 20 SH-60s in total: 12 anti-submarine SH-60Bs operated by the Tenth Squadron (6 SH-60B Block 0s purchased in 1986 and upgraded to the Block 1 Core B version, and 6 SH-60B Block 1s purchased in 2002) and with radio call sign "Toro" (Bull), and 8 SH-60F transports operated by the 5th Squadron, with radio call sign "Morsa" (Walrus), received between 2017 and 2021 from US military surplus as a temporary solution due to delays of the NH-90 and which replaced the old SH-3D Sea King retired from service in 2022. In addition, in 2023 Spain announced the purchase of 8 MH-60R, a multi-mission variant intended to replace the SH-60B.

In the last few hours, the US Armed Forces multimedia portal DVIDShun.net has published two series of photos of the two Spanish SH-60Fs deployed on the L-51: a series published by the US Navy and one published by the Marines. In both cases, we see these two FLOAN aircraft operating on the flight deck of the San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship USS Arlington (LPD 24), in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In the background of this photo, on the right, the BAA "Galicia" L-51 can be seen.

In these photos released by the USN and the USMC, we can see two SH-60F helicopters from the Fifth Squadron: the HT.23-14 01-1015 (above, an aircraft that arrived in Spain on April 27, 2018 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, being the second SH-60F delivered by the US to Spain, according to Defensa.com), and the HT.23-15 01-1016 (below, which arrived in Spain on September 30, 2021 aboard a USAF C-17 aircraft along with another SH-60F, the HT.23-16 01-1017, according to Defensa.com).

Like the rest of the FLOAN aircraft, these helicopters carry a very low-visibility gray livery, with gray markings that are almost indistinguishable from a distance and very small Spanish roundels on the tail and the upper part of the cockpit. However, they include two clearly visible symbols: one of them is a walrus, as we see below these lines, representing the radio callsign used by the Fifth Squadron and inherited from its old SH-3Ds.

The other emblem, even more visible, is a fox painted on the port side of the nose. This is a reference to this model of the Seahawk, known as the SH-60F Foxtrot. The Fifth Squadron adopted a patch with this emblem when it received this model of helicopter.

Below we see HT.23-14 01-1015 receiving instructions from an aircraft movement director (recognizable by his yellow vest) on the flight deck of the USS Arlington. These photos were taken on Saturday, September 20, according to information collected by DVIDShub.net.

Here we see one of the crew members of a Spanish SH-60F on the flight deck of the American ship. He is holding some gifts.

Two Spanish aviators distributing these gifts among the flight deck personnel of the USS Arlington. These are patches from the Fifth Squadron. Exchanging patches during these types of visits is already a tradition among sailors from allied countries.

We conclude with this photo of two U.S. naval aviators monitoring the operations of the Spanish SH-60Fs on the flight deck of the USS Arlington from primary flight control located forward of that deck. I hope their colleagues saved a couple of patches for them...

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Photos: U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps.