Sikorsky Signs Five-Year Contract To Build H-60 Helicopters For U.S. Army and Navy

The U.S. Army and Navy signed July 9th 2019 an $8.5 billion contract with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., to buy a baseline quantity of 653 BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK® helicopters through December 2017. The five-year contract will yield significant savings for the U.S. Government compared with purchasing the same quantity across five separate annual agreements.

The five-year agreement also allows the Army and Navy to order as many as 263 more aircraft within the same contractual terms. If exercised, the optional purchases could push the contract value as high as $11.7 billion. Actual production quantities will be determined year-by-year over the life of the program based on funding allocations set by Congress and Pentagon acquisition priorities.

                         

The U.S. Army and Navy signed July 9th 2019 an $8.5 billion contract with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., to buy a baseline quantity of 653 BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK® helicopters through December 2017. The five-year contract will yield significant savings for the U.S. Government compared with purchasing the same quantity across five separate annual agreements.

An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Saberhawks of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77 aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

                         

“By buying a five-year quantity of four helicopter models in a single joint-service purchase, the two services have enabled Sikorsky and our suppliers to aggressively control our long- term costs,” said John Palumbo, Sikorsky’s Vice President for BLACK HAWK aircraft production. “Furthermore, by ordering a similar number of aircraft year-over-year, the Army and Navy have ensured that we can stabilize our supply base over the same period of time.”

Designated Multi-Year 8 — for the eighth multi-year order of H-60 helicopters since fiscal year 1982 — today’s formal signing ends more than three years of planning, including six months of negotiation. The base contract includes UH-60M utility and HH-60M MEDEVAC helicopters for the U.S. Army, and MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters for the U.S. Navy. To reach the full baseline value of $8.5 billion, the services are ordering aircraft in the base agreement to be sold via the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program. These aircraft include Foreign Military Sale (FMS) UH-60M aircraft for several allied countries and MH-60R SEAHAWK anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters for the Royal Australian Navy. Colonel Thomas Todd, the Utility Helicopters Project Manager, stated that, “This contract will provide our Army, sister services and Allies with state-of-the-art modernized helicopters. Moreover, this effort will stabilize our manufacturing base during this period of fiscally challenging times.”

                         

The U.S. Army and Navy signed July 9th 2019 an $8.5 billion contract with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., to buy a baseline quantity of 653 BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK® helicopters through December 2017. The five-year contract will yield significant savings for the U.S. Government compared with purchasing the same quantity across five separate annual agreements.

BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK aircraft deliveries under the new contract will begin this month. Sikorsky produces the two H-60M BLACK HAWK and two MH-60 SEAHAWK aircraft models on four separate production lines at its final assembly facility in Stratford, Conn., and West Palm Beach, Fla.

Qatar keen on $2.5bn US helicopters deal

Qatar is interested in a $2.5bn deal to buy military hardware including 22 Seahawk helicopters, according to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency.

It said it has notified Congress of a possible military sale to the Government Qatar with an option to expand the helicopter fleet at a later date.

The sale includes 22 Seahawk multi-mission helicopters, 12 fitted with the armed helicopter modification kit, the US agency said in a statement.

The possible order would also include 48 T-700 GE 401C Engines (44 installed and four spare) with an option to purchase an additional six Seahawks and 13 T-700 GE 401C Engines.

The estimated cost of the order is $2.5bn, the statement added.

Communication equipment, spare engine containers, support equipment, spare and repair parts, tools and test equipment, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment would also be included in the order.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that has been, and continues to be, an important force for political and economic progress in the Middle East," the Agency said.

"Qatar is a strategic partner in maintaining stability in the region. The acquisition of these helicopters will allow for greater interoperability with US forces, providing benefits for training and possible future coalition operations in support of shared regional security objectives," it added.

The statement said Qatar will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defence.

The Seahawk helicopters will supplement and eventually replace the Qatar Air Force's aging maritime patrol helicopters.

The prime contractors will be Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut, Lockheed Martin in Owego, New York, and General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts.

The possible order comes on the back of news earlier this month that the Qatar Government was interested in buying military hardware including 12 Black hawk helicopters.

The possible sale, worth $1.1bn, to Qatar would also include 26 engines, 15 common missile warning systems, 15 laser detecting sets, 15 radar signal detecting sets, 26 machine guns, and 26 night vision goggles.