Stratford-based Sikorsky delivered two new CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters to the U.S. Marines in December and is ramping up production of the aircraft, the company announced Monday.
The two new aircraft joined the seven already at work at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, N.C.
The U.S Navy gave Sikorsky the go-ahead to begin full production of the CH-53K program in December. The company aims to deliver 20 of the helicopters a year in the coming years, including 12 craft in various stages of production for the government of Israel.
Bill Falk, director of Sikorsky’s CH-53K program, said “With the CH-53K’s transformative technologies, more is possible for the Marine Corps and our allies when deterring threats in the changing battlefield landscape.”
CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, which cost about $100 million each, are key to Sikorsky’s product mix as it copes with the loss of a key U.S. Army contract bid for the next-generation of assault aircraft.
The CH-53K can lift 36,000 pounds, fly as high as 16,000 feet and transport up to 32 troops or 24 medevac patients at a time. It also uses a digital fly-by-wire flight control system that provides all the aircraft motion, making the helicopter easier to handle in low visibility.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
