Turning an imported helicopter into a British naval system

Would Britain simply buy a Black Hawk if it needed that capability?

More likely it would adapt the airframe with British naval electronics and equipment, probably through domestic licensed production.

The Black Hawk hypothetical follows a familiar British procurement pattern: acquire a suitable foreign platform and rebuild its mission fit around domestic requirements. For naval anti-submarine work, that would mean starting from the Seahawk variant rather than an unmodified utility helicopter. British electronics and equipment could make the resulting aircraft functionally similar to the role later filled by Merlin even though it retained a Seahawk airframe. British adaptations of the Sea King and Apache offer comparable examples. Licensed production in the United Kingdom would also preserve part of the domestic industrial base while using an imported design.