Erstwhile rivals Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. plan to make a joint bid to build a fleet of helicopters for the White House, more than four years after AgustaWestland and Lockheed Martin beat out Sikorsky for the contract, only to see it canceled.
The companies did not immediately state whether the helicopters would be built at Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford; at Owego, N.Y., where Lockheed Martin had planned to base production for the earlier helicopter; or at a combination of both facilities.
A subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., Sikorsky is the largest employer in Fairfield County with more than 9,000 workers. Lockheed Martin is based in Bethesda, Md.
The CEO of Italy-based Finmeccanica SpA, AgustaWestland”™s parent company, expressed interest last week in reviving its bid for the program, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The proposed “VXX” helicopter would replace the current fleet of Sikorsky-built presidential helicopters, and would be based on a variant of Sikorsky”™s S-92 helicopter. Lockheed Martin would supply subsystems on board the helicopter.
Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin reached a memorandum of understanding to explore business opportunities involving other Sikorsky programs, without providing specifics.
“For nearly four decades, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin have teamed successfully to produce Naval Hawk helicopters, so we have a proven and formidable track record as a team,” said Scott Starrett, president of Sikorsky”™s military systems division, in a prepared statement.
Any helicopter in which the president travels is automatically dubbed Marine One.
