Canada’s new CH-148 naval helicopters currently are not allowed to operate on board warships with its sonar attached due to a safety issue. The Royal Canadian Air Force has provided additional information on the nature of the problem with Defence Watch.
By Gerry Metzler (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyguy71/6903672186/) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
It was determined that the helicopter’s sonar might strike the ship mounted assisted recovery system on a warship during high sea state condition as it cannot be fully retracted into the fuselage after deployment. The issue affects only Block 1 rotorcraft and the issue has been resolved in the Block 2 configuration.
Six Block 2 aircraft are to be delivered this year and Block 1s have been sent back to Sikorsky for modifications to Block 2 standard.