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With a $2.77 billion deal for 35 helicopters, the U.S. Navy on Thursday awarded its largest contract to date for the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter program.
Twelve lot 7 and fifteen lot 8 aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps as well as eight aircraft for the Israeli Air Force are covered under the deal with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary.
The CH-53K debuted internationally in 2018 at the Berlin Air Show and has three times the payload capacity of its predecessor. Deliveries will start in 2026, the release states.
Previously, Israel made a foreign military sales agreement in 2022, which enabled the purchase of four aircraft. The Israeli Air Force’s special operations program will be supported by the helicopter, among other tasks.
Israel agreed to purchase the 12 aircraft currently under contract, with an option to purchase six more. 200 aircraft are part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ program of record.
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Full-Rate Production Contracts
The contracts for lots 7 and 8—using funding from the fiscal years 2023 and 2024, respectively—are the Corps’ first two full-rate production contracts. In December, the Navy declared that the program was prepared for full-rate production.
Connecticut is home to more than 40 CH-53K suppliers, according to the business.
Given that the first six contracts collectively covered 42 aircraft, production at Sikorsky’s Connecticut site will swiftly increase. According to budget records, the Corps is anticipated to begin purchasing 21 per year in FY25 with full-rate production proclaimed.
As the business ramps up to full-rate production, Bill Falk, Sikorsky’s CH-53K program manager, told reporters in April that the corporation had “dramatically changed our production line in Connecticut.”
The factory can now produce two helicopters every month thanks to its two simultaneous production lines. If more overseas clients sign up for the scheme, he said, that number might increase to three every month if necessary.
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Source: Defense News
