Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron SEVEN ONE (HSM 71) was established on 4 October 2007 and is the Navy's premier operational Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron. The Raptors truly embody the phrase: "FIRST AND FINEST."
This establishment signifies the beginning of a new chapter in military history. The Raptors have been given the newest, most technologically advanced helicopter in the United States Navy's inventory, the MH-60R or “Romeo.” HSM 71 is the first squadron to employ this new airframe and begin a new community. The Raptors took the HSM community lead for the testing and implementation of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System. The Raptors continue to push forward and will be the first operational squadron to fire the VX-1 missiles.
The Raptors have been awarded the Admiral Thach Award for outstanding achievement and contributions to naval aviation, the Commander Naval Air Forces Blue “M” for medical readiness, and have surpassed 34,000 mishap free flight hours.
Our commitment to operational performance, by the book maintenance, operational readiness, innovation in tactics and weapons system development, and community leadership has combined to produce a truly capable team. The Raptors continue to set the standard for professional development, superior readiness and safety in an operational environment and have clearly established themselves as the “First and Finest” in the HSM community.
The MH-60R helicopter, with its advanced mission suite, is designed to provide superior anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) performance in open-ocean and littoral environments. Its onboard data link enables real-time sharing of tactical, communications and navigational data with its parent ship. The aircraft is capable of fully independent and/or coordinated ASW operations and can localize and classify sub-surface threats as well as engage them with an array of homing torpedoes.
The MH-60R helicopter's advanced sensors enable it to detect, locate, identify and neutralize surface threats beyond the parent ship's radar or electronic horizon. Tactical and targeting data is shared with its parent ship via onboard data link, allowing targets to be engaged by shipboard weapons or the MH-60R helicopter's Hellfire missiles.
Secondary missions for the MH-60R aircraft include search and rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), naval gunfire support (NGFS), and communications relay (COMREL).
Characteristics and Dimensions
Length.............................64 ft 10 in
Height..............................17 ft
Main Rotor Diameter........53 ft 8 in
Tail Rotor Diameter..........11 ft
Max Gross Weight............23,500 lbs
Dash Speed......................140 kts
Mission Endurance...........3.30 hours
Auxiliary fuel...................up to 2 external tanks
Engines...........................(2) T700-GE-401C
Horsepower.....................Up to 1940 shp
Weapons.........................Hellfire Missiles,
Torpedoes, 50 cal
guns
Commander Brian Holmes
Commanding Officer
Commander Matthew Kiser
Executive Officer
CMDCM Steven Cosgrove
Command Master Chief
Please contact us at:
Duty Phone: (619) 545 - 7087
-or-
Admin Office: (619) 545 - 7082
Webmaster:
HSM71Webmaster@navy.mil
-or-
(619) 545 - 7098
Underway:
Sailor's Name
HSM-71
UNIT 25262
FPO AP 96601
On shore
Sailor's Name
HSM-71
UNIT 25262
P.O. Box 357098
San Diego, CA 92135
