TSAMTO, August 28. The US Navy Command has signed a contract with Sikorsky Aircraft (a division of Lockheed Martin) for the supply of 35 additional CH-53K King Stallion heavy transport helicopters.
This is the largest single order of helicopters of this type to date.
The contract value is $2.77 billion. The agreement provides for the supply of 12 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters of the 7th batch (Lot 7) and 15 helicopters of the 8th batch (Lot 8) for the USMC, as well as 8 helicopters for the Israeli Armed Forces, spare parts, and related support.
Sikorsky will begin delivery of the ordered equipment in 2026 and will complete it in December 2027. The work will be carried out at enterprises in Bradford (pcs.Connecticut, 41.96%), Wichita (pcs.Kansas, 11.18%), Salt Lake City (Utah, 6.97%), Bridgeport (West Virginia, 2.72%), Redmond (Washington, 2.03%), Kent (Washington, 1.81%), Quebec (Canada, 1.63%), Cudahy (pcs.Wisconsin, 1.53%), Kent (UK, 1.16%), Windsor Locks (pcs.Connecticut, 1.10%), Rome (pcs.New York, 1.06%) and other production sites.
As stated, this contract brings Sikorsky and the US Navy much closer to concluding a long-term agreement to supply the Marine Corps with a total of up to 200 helicopters.
As reported by TSAMTO, the contract worth $ 3.5 billion, providing for the implementation of the development and demonstration phase of the CH-53K helicopter, was signed by the USMC with Sikorsky on April 5, 2006. In August 2017, the US Navy Command signed a contract with Lockheed Martin worth $303.974 million for the supply of the first two CH-53K King Stallion helicopters as part of the initial small-scale production (LRIP) phase. The first CH-53K was transferred to the USMC for evaluation of various aspects of service in May 2018.
In total, the USMC plans to receive 200 serial CH-53K helicopters as part of the program. Their estimated cost is $25 billion.
The USMC announced its initial readiness for combat use of the CH-53K in April 2022. Full readiness for combat use is planned to be achieved in 2029 f.g.
In December 2022, full-scale production of the CH-53K "King Stallion" was approved. It is expected that in the coming years the production rate of helicopters will increase to 24 units per year.
As of February 2023, the total number of CH-53K helicopters transferred to the USMC was 7 units. At the moment, the only buyer of the CH-53K, in addition to the USMC, are the Israeli Armed Forces. In December 2021, the Israeli Defense Ministry signed a letter with an offer to purchase 12 CH-53K helicopters for the country's Air Force. The cost of the order is estimated at $2 billion. The agreement includes an option to supply six additional "King Stallion". The first helicopter deliveries are scheduled for 2025. In February 2022, a firm contract was signed with Sikorsky Aircraft for the supply of the first 4 helicopters. Now all 12 cars have been ordered.
As stated, the CH-53K is an "intelligent" helicopter designed in accordance with the standards of the XXI century and providing increased safety and survivability. A feature of the machine is a fully functional digital flight control system (FCS). The CH-53K delivers up to 30 fully equipped Marines to a given area, can carry an external load weighing 27,000 pounds over a distance of more than 110 nautical miles. In terms of payload, the CH-53K surpasses all other helicopters of the US Department of Defense and is the only heavy helicopter whose production will continue until 2032 and beyond.
