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World Aviation Defense & Security Industry News - Sikorsky
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Sikorsky gets additional funding from NAVAIR for CH-53K helicopter development effort
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Sikorsky, part of the US-based defense giant Lockheed Martin, has been awarded a $24,025,000 contract to provide additional funding for the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter development and demonstration effort, the US Department of Defense announced on Jan. 12, 2017, on its website.
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The CH-53K King Stallion performing its first flight on Oct. 27, 2015 (Credit: NAVAIR) |
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"This modification includes the on-going efforts and the current work focusing on the flight testing of the CH-53K engineering development models. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (40 percent); West Palm Beach, Florida (40 percent); and Patuxent River, Maryland (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2018," the US DoD explained.
The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. The most powerful helicopter in the Department of Defense, the CH-53K is a new-build helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material, more rapidly throughout the area of responsibility using proven and mature technologies.
The King Stallion will be able to transport two “up-armored” HMMWV or a Light Armored Vehicle variant under Navy high/hot conditions. It will feature a 12” wider cabin section, which can internally load 2 x 10,000lb AMC 463L pallets or 5 AMC 463L half-pallets or internally load an HMMWV ; next-generation joint interoperable CAAS “glass” cockpit ; Fly-By-Wire flight controls add additional survivability, safety and maintenance improvements ; and a fourth-generation high-efficiency composite rotor blades with swept anhedral tips. |
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