A five-year agreement was made this week between the US government and Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), for the delivery of 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the US Army and clients for Foreign Military Sales (FMS). Thanks to a robust manufacturing line, an advanced, well-established supply chain, and a digital factory, Sikorsky continues to modernize and enhance the Black Hawk to suit the Army’s demanding and changing tasks.
The “Multi-Year X” contract for the UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC helicopters is the tenth such agreement for H-60 helicopters between Sikorsky and the US government. The Black Hawk continues to be the workhorse and foundation of U.S. Army Aviation, with more than 2,100 H-60 versions in the inventory of the U.S. Army. The Army will continue to use the H-60M for the foreseeable future along with the future fleet while it develops its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capabilities.
The estimated contract value for the anticipated deliveries is $2.3 billion, with a maximum contract value of $4.4 billion if all available options for further aircraft are completely exercised. Deliveries for Multi-Year X are expected to start in July and last until 2027 according to a statement issued this week.
“This Multi-Year agreement allows the Army to meet current and future capability needs through upgrades, remanufacturing, replacement, and technology insertions,” said Col. Calvin Lane, the Utility Helicopters project manager. “The efficiencies of this contract make the best use of limited resources and result in direct savings to the Army and to taxpayers.”
“Decades of Black Hawk production and enhancements, strong program execution and close partnership with the Army has kept the program thriving, and this contract is a testament to that success,” said Nathalie Previte, vice president of Sikorsky’s Army and Air Force programs. “Additionally, we continue to see strong international interest in the Black Hawk due to its versatility and proven record of providing unwavering support to the U.S. and nations around the globe.”
“Sikorsky continues to invest in the Black Hawk platform – from sustainment to digital transformation and modernization – in order to provide our customers with the competitive edge they require,” added Previte. “We have aligned our investments with the Army’s technology roadmap, while leveraging Future Vertical Lift technologies to ensure the Black Hawk will be a key player in the Joint All Domain Operations environment and FVL ecosystem.”
The top multi-mission combat attack utility helicopter, the H-60M Black Hawk, has proven to offer more cargo and range, cutting-edge digital avionics, active vibration management, increased producibility, improved handling qualities and situational awareness, and improved survivability.
In 2021, US defense trade agreements, totalled $103.4 billion, supplying authorized military sales to countries including Australia, Israel, India and Canada.
Source: Digital Weekday
