US to accelerate production of its advanced Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter
News, US December 30, 2022 1 Comment on US to accelerate production of its advanced Sikorsky CH-53K helicopterUnited States is set to accelerate the production of one of its most advanced helicopters, the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion, after the Navy declared full-rate production of the aircraft on December 27, 2022.
U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin’s subsidiary Sikorsky is expected to increase production to more than 20 helicopters annually in the coming years, the defense manufacturer announced in a statement.
According to the statement, the company is “procuring long-lead items and critical materials to support building full rate production CH-53K helicopters in its digital factory.”
Director of the Sikorsky CH-53K program Bill Falk said “Ramping up production of the most technologically advanced helicopter in the world allows the U.S. Marine Corps to build out its CH-53K King Stallion fleet and support mission success.” Falk further added that “This production authorization stabilizes Sikorsky’s domestic supply chain and is a testament to our enduring partnership with the Marine Corps.”
The CH‑53K King Stallion is a multi-mission helicopter with heavy-lift capabilities that exceed all other U.S. Department of Defense rotary wing aircraft and is the only heavy-lift helicopter. The aircraft is expected to remain in production through 2032 and beyond.
The U.S. Navy’s advanced helicopter can carry a 27,000-pound external load over 110 nautical miles in high/hot conditions, which is more than triple the external load-carrying capacity of the legacy CH-53E aircraft, the Lockheed Martin statement added.
The helicopter can carry heavy armored vehicles (such as high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles), military equipment, and personnel as well as support distributed operations deep inland from a sea-based center of operations, that critical for the United States Navy based in the Indo-Pacific region.
Lockheed Martin designed the Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter to meet the standards of the U.S. Marine Corps and the aircraft will serve as its critical land and sea-based logistics connector. The helicopter has a wider cabin and can transport more troops or military cargo with fewer trips. The CH-53K can conduct a range of operations such as humanitarian relief, firefighting, and search and rescue.
The U.S. Marine Corps declared Initial Operational Capability for the CH-53K helicopter in April 2022, and validated the platform’s operational readiness to forward deploy Marines and equipment across the globe, the Lockheed Martin statement highlighted. The U.S. Marine Corps approved the acquisition objective of 200 CH-53K helicopters.
The United States Navy received the first CH-53K training device from Lockheed Martin on April 14, 2020. In May 2020, the CH-53K helicopter successfully completed an air-to-air refueling test with the help of a Lockheed Martin KC-130J aerial refueling tanker.
According to Lockheed Martin, the aircraft demonstrated capabilities of “withstanding turbulent air and the force on the refueling probe at increased closure rates.”
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