Lockheed, Sikorsky Debut Armed Black Hawk in Poland

When Sikorsky was owned by United Technologies Corporation, “there was a policy when part of [UTC] that prevented Sikorsky from internally arming a Black Hawk,” Villa said. “That has since gone away.”

Lockheed Martin bought Sikorsky from UTC last year.

And while Sikorsky could not arm Black Hawks, Lockheed Martin has, for example, done integration work to weaponize Sea Hawks, the US Navy’s version of the helicopter.

Now that Sikorsky and Lockheed are one in the same, each company brings experience that will move the dial toward a more seamless process to arm Black Hawks.

“Now we can be a one-stop shop,” Villa added.

Sikorsky and Lockheed are working together on several versions of an armed Black Hawk. The Black Hawk on display in Poland is just one possible configuration designed by the team, according to Villa.

Villa emphasized the configurations are weapons agnostic and in the case of Poland, it was likely armed with NATO standard weapons like Lockheed's Hellfire missile. “It’s supposed to be a representation of what can be done. To even get into what’s on it right now is immaterial. That we can do it is what is being highlighted,” he added.

The display in Poland marks the first time Sikorsky and Lockheed have debuted an armed Black Hawk concept. The same helicopter will make another European cameo at the Farnborough Air Show in England next month.

Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin see a promising market for armed Black Hawks in the region. “The entire region right now is in need of helicopters because of the aging Russian fleet,” Villa said. “The majority of these former Warsaw Pact countries fly Mi-24s, which is, essentially, an armed small utility aircraft so the countries in the region are looking to fill that gap that is being opened up.”

Additionally, there are countries that may want a utility aircraft and an armed aircraft but, don’t have the budget to buy two exclusive platforms for a utility and attack helicopter. Sikorsky sees an armed Black Hawk as a good solution to meet those requirements within smaller budgets.

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.

Black Hawk Infiltrates Qatar

Persian Gulf state of Qatar has ordered twelve American UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, to replace their aging British Sea Kings. The UH-60Ms would be equipped with radar and a six barrel 7.62mm machine-guns and used for coastal patrol, as well as for moving personnel and cargo.

The UH-60M features several improvements over the earlier 60L model, including new rotor blades (more reliable and provide 227 kg/500 pounds of additional lift), an all-electronic cockpit (putting all needed information on four full-color displays), an improved autopilot (which will fly the chopper if the pilot is injured and unable to), improved flight controls (making flying easier, especially in stressful situations), a stronger fuselage, more efficient navigation system, better infrared suppression (making it harder for heat seeking missiles to hit), and more powerful engines.

The oldest model, the UH-60As, will continue to serve until the last of them is retired in 2025. By then, all UH-60s will be L or M models. The last major upgrade of the Black Hawk was in the late 1980s, when the UH-60L was introduced. The M version, which will cost about $40 million each, will make the UH-60 viable into the 2020s.

Qatar is still buying European helicopters, having ordered 18 AW139 transport helicopters, for about $22 million each, four years ago. This eight ton chopper can carry up to 15 passengers and can get by with just one pilot. Cruise speed is 288 kilometers an hour and endurance averages 3.2 hours. The AW149, a military version of the AW139, will be available in four years. The AW139 competes with the U.S. UH-60 and another European helicopter, the slightly larger NH90. The Qataris have seen a lot of UH-60s in the past decade because of an agreement that allows some American troops to be based in Qatar.

Boeing Delivers 100th Modified Chinook to US Army

Boeing delivered the 100th modified CH-47F Chinook helicopter to the U.S. Army today in a ceremony at the company's modification center in Millville.

"The Boeing Millville team is proud to have delivered 100 modified Chinooks to the Army on time, using efficient, cost-saving processes," said Peri Widener, Boeing vice president of Rotorcraft Support. "The modification work on new F-model Chinooks gives soldiers in the field the most advanced equipment possible without taking aircraft out of service at the unit or in theater."

"In just over two years since this facility opened its doors, we are marking completion of our 100th Chinook helicopter locally, thanks to outstanding cooperation among Boeing, the U.S. Army, the Delaware River & Bay Authority and the city of Millville," said U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "I am proud to celebrate this milestone for high-tech industry in New Jersey."

Boeing opened the Millville facility in February 2010 after signing a five-year lease for hangar space with the Delaware River & Bay Authority at the Millville Municipal Airport.

After the Army takes delivery of the Chinooks from the Boeing production line in Philadelphia, the aircraft are flown to Millville, where Boeing structural and electrical employees make avionics and airframe modifications to support new Army requirements.

"The Millville Modification Center is critical in providing modifications to the CH-47F prior to delivering the aircraft to Army units," said Lt. Col. Brad Killen, CH-47F product manager for the Army.

Boeing modifies the helicopters under an Initial Production and Fielding Support contract that also includes training support on the upgrades for Army Chinook units. Boeing deploys two New Equipment Training teams, consisting of CH-47F mechanics and technicians, to support Army units around the world.

Russian Ship Carrying Syrian Attack Helicopters Returns Home

The Russian ship MV Alaed, carrying a cargo of overhauled Russian-made Mil Mi-25 helicopter gunships bound for Syria, will dock in the north Russian port of Murmansk on Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.

"While transiting the North Sea to the Atlantic, the ship-owner was informed that its third-party insurance cover had been withdrawn, and the classification agency in which the ship is located - although it is registered under a Curacao flag - demanded it go into a port for inspection. In order to avoid delay, it was decided to dock in Murmansk where it is expected on Saturday, for re-registration under the Russian flag," he said.

On Tuesday, Femco, the Russian shipping company which owns the Alaed, was told by its insurer, Britain's Standard Club, that cover had been withdrawn after the insurer discovered the ship was carrying weapons, in contravention of an EU arms embargo on Syria.

The helicopters became the center of a diplomatic row last week, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claiming Russia was supplying weapons that would be used to massacre civilian protesters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated again on Thursday that the helicopters were overhauled under a contract signed in 2008.

“The ship, about which much has been said…really did carry air defense systems and three helicopters which were overhauled under a contract signed with Russia in 2008,” he told RT television.

Lavrov repeated that this in no way contravened any international agreements or UN Security Council resolutions, and said the Alaed incident spoke about the “unreliability of the British insurance system.”

Speaking in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio, Lavrov said the helicopters were being delivered in knock-down condition. “They need to be rebuilt, taking around three months. Sources saying the Russians have delivered helicopters which were used against demonstrators, this is a completely false position conjured up to create fear and put Russia in a bad light,” he said.

Qatar - UH-60M BLACK HAWK Helicopters

Defense Security Cooperation Agency

NEWS RELEASE

On the web: http://www.dsca.mil Media/Public Contact:

Charles Taylor (703) 601-3859

Paul Ebner (703) 601-3670

Transmittal No. 12-08

Qatar – UH-60M BLACK HAWK Helicopters

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2012 – The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on June 12 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Qatar of 12 UH-60M BLACK HAWK Utility Helicopters, 26 T700-GE-701D Engines (24 installed and 2 spares), 15 AN/AAR-57 V(7) Common Missile Warning Systems, 15 AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting Sets, 15 AN/APR-39A(V)4 Radar Signal Detecting Sets, 26 M240H Machine Guns, and 26 AN/AVS-6 Night Vision Goggles. The estimated cost is $1.112 billion.

The Government of Qatar has requested a possible sale of 12 UH-60M BLACK HAWK Utility Helicopters, 26 T700-GE-701D Engines (24 installed and 2 spares), 15 AN/AAR-57 V(7) Common Missile Warning Systems, 15 AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting Sets, 15 AN/APR-39A(V)4 Radar Signal Detecting Sets, 26 M240H Machine Guns, and 26 AN/AVS-6 Night Vision Goggles. Also included are M206 infrared countermeasure flares, M211 and M212 Advanced Infrared Countermeasure Munitions (AIRCM) flares, M134D-H Machine Guns, system integration and air worthiness certification, simulators, generators, transportation, wheeled vehicles and organization equipment, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools and test equipment, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $1.112 billion.

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. Qatar is host to the U.S. AFCENT forces and serves as a critical forward-deployed location in the region. The proposed sale of the UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters will improve Qatar's capability to meet current and future threats and provide greater security for its critical oil and natural gas infrastructure, and significant national events. Qatar will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense. Qatar will have no difficulty absorbing these helicopters into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be Sikorsky Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut, and General Electric Aircraft Company in Lynn, Massachusetts. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of two contractor representatives to Qatar for a minimum of three years to support delivery of the helicopters and provide support and equipment familiarization. In addition, Qatar has expressed an interest in a Technical Assistance Fielding Team for in-country pilot and maintenance training. To support the requirement, a team of 12 personnel (one military team leader and 11 contractors) would be deployed to Qatar for approximately three years.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.