Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has been selected to build four operational test helicopters as part of a program to eventually replace the U.S. Marine Corps”™ current fleet of heavy-lift transport aircraft.
The $435 million contract was awarded by the Navy May 30 and requires the four CH-53K helicopters to be delivered by March 2017. The helicopters will be assembled and tested at Sikorsky”™s West Palm Beach facility.
The contract will be added as a line item to an existing $3.5 billion System Development and Demonstration contract Sikorsky was awarded in April 2006 to design and build two CH-53Ks for ground testing and five for flight testing, the Navy said in a release.
The CH-53K is expected to replace the Marines”™ fleet of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, which is its primary means of transporting troops and supplies off of ships. The Super Stallions were also built by Sikorsky, but a spokesman said the CH-53K represents “much more than an upgrade.”
“While from the outside the aircraft looks the same, the capabilities of the K far surpass what the E can do now,” said Frans Jurgens, a company spokesman. He said the testing process will aim to verify that the CH-53K has nearly three times the load-carrying capacity as its predecessor.
Current defense appropriations call for the first of 200 CH-53Ks to enter into operation by 2019. Jurgens said Sikorsky expects a formal production contract to be announced by the Navy “at some point in the future,” but noted that the four operational test helicopters will be counted among the 200 total aircraft.
“We are well on our way to making the CH-53K a reality for our marines and our naval fleet,” said Col. Robert Pridgen of the Marine Corps in a statement.
Sikorsky is headquartered in Stratford.
[Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect comments from Sikorsky and the Navy.]
