Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.”™s backlog of orders will reach $20 billion this year, according to a report attributing the new estimate to a senior executive.
Stratford-based Sikorsky is the largest employer in Fairfield County with 8,300 employees at last report. The company is a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp.
Stephen Estill, chief marketing officer of Sikorsky, disclosed the company”™s backlog to reporters attending last week”™s FIDAE air show in Santiago, Chile, according to Dow Jones.
Sikorsky”™s 2007 order backlog totaled $11.4 billion. Sikorsky is projected to produce the largest number of medium and heavy military helicopters through 2017, according to Newtown-based Forecast International.
In separate Sikorsky news, the U.S. Air Force plans to delay to October its reconsideration of bids for a potential $15 billion contract for 140 search-and-rescue helicopters, as Sikorsky and two competitors revise their bids. Sikorsky reportedly is changing its design to add a fifth rotor. The contract was originally awarded to Boeing Co., but the Air Force bowed to pressure from Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin Corp. to reopen bidding.
