The U.S. Army and Navy will buy 102 new helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford.
The Army will receive 65 helicopters ”“ including 41 UH-60 Blackhawk models and 24 HH-60M models ”“ at a cost of $771 million. The Navy has agreed to purchase 37 MH-60 helicopters for approximately $535 million.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., recently issued a statement praising the deal.
“I am extremely pleased that the Army and Navy have jointly continued their multi-year contract for 102 additional Sikorsky helicopters for this year,” Blumenthal said. That contract is valued at a total $8.4 billion. “I know that Sikorsky and its highly skilled Connecticut workforce will again deliver on time and on budget, providing our warfighters the most capable and modern equipment available.”
The Navy had announced plans earlier this year to drop the purchase of 29 MH-60R helicopters for the fiscal year 2016 portion of the multiyear helicopter procurement, according to the statement from Blumenthal”™s office. Blumenthal, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in the statement he will continue to work with the Navy to ensure that the MH-60R multiyear contract is fully funded for fiscal year 2016.
