Sikorsky awarded $435M Marines contract

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.]