DH - Defence Helicopter
Lockheed Martin to build two CH-53K
Lockheed Martin has received a Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1 contract worth $304 million from the US Naval Air Systems Command to build two production CH-53K King Stallion helicopters for the US Marine Corps (USMC), the company announced on 1 September.
Under the contract, Sikorsky will deliver two aircraft to the USMC along with spares and logistical support in 2020.
The CH-53K King Stallion has three times the lift capability of its predecessor, the CH-53E Super Stallion. The helicopter's cabin gives increased payload capacity to internally load 463L cargo pallets, high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles or a European Fenneck armoured personnel carrier while still leaving the troop seats installed. The CH-53K’s external hook system provides the capability to lift three independent external loads simultaneously.
The King Stallion also has full authority fly-by-wire flight controls and mission management to reduce pilot workload and allow the crew to focus on mission execution. Features of the helicopter include advanced stability augmentation, flight control modes that include attitude command-velocity hold, automated approach to a stabilised hover, position hold and precision tasks in degraded visual environments and tactile cueing.
The CH-53K also has internal health monitoring systems coupled with a digital aviation logistics maintenance system that interfaces with the fleet common operating environment for fleet management.
More from Defence Helicopter
-
First H145 SAR helicopter delivered to Germany
The first H145 helicopter has been delivered to the German armed forces’ search and rescue service by Airbus Helicopters, the company announced on 10 December.Germany’s ...
-
First modified MV-22 Osprey delivered to USMC
Boeing and Bell Textron have delivered the first modified MV-22 Osprey to the US Marine Corps (USMC). Bell Boeing is upgrading block B aircraft to ...
-
Bell 412EPI delivered to PT Dirgantara Indonesia
Bell has delivered a Bell 412EPI helicopter to PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) as part a nine aircraft order from the Indonesian Army. This is the ...
-
Airbus Helicopters signs Tiger support agreement
Airbus Helicopters has secured a ten-year tri-lateral Global Support Contract with OCCAR for Tiger helicopters in service in the French, German and Spanish armies.The agreement ...
-
Bell-Boeing to continue V-22 support
The US Department of Defense has issued a contract modification to the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office for the V-22 programme. Under the maximum $218.7 ...
-
Lockheed Martin receives M-TADS/PNVS contract modification
The US Army has issued a $7.5 million contract modification to Lockheed Martin for Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight Pilot Night Vision Sensor Systems (M-TADS/PNVS), ...