The new "Beast" of the Marine's CH-53K is becoming alive.

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CH-53K marks heavy-lift milestone

Janes

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CH-53K helicopter to make international debut at ILA Berlin show

FlightGlobal

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The King Stallion Is the Heaviest U.S. Military

Marines prepare to receive the CH-53K

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky division a contract to start producing the U.S. Marine Corps' new CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopters. The company will produce two of the massive rotary-wing aircraft under a so-called "Lot 1" Low Rate Initial Production [LRIP] fixed price contract worth $304 million.

"I am proud of what the team has negotiated to bring this remarkable and unrivaled helicopter one step closer to the fleet," U.S. Marine Corps. Col. Hank Vanderborght, Naval Air Systems Command's program manager for Heavy Lift Helicopters program said in a statement. "This contract will benefit our Marine Corps' 'heavy lifters' for decades to come. Future Marines, not even born yet, will be flying this helicopter well into the future."

NAVAIR awarded Sikorsky the contract following the Pentagon's April 4 Milestone C decision to allow the CH-53K to enter into its "Production and Deployment" phase. Sikorsky is expected to start deliveries from this Lot 1 contract in 2020. But propulsion is not included in the contract. The Navy is buying engines for the aircraft as "Government Furnished Equipment " under a separate contract with General Electric.

"Gaining the U.S. Marine Corps approval to enter into production and the award of the first contract are milestones made possible by the tremendous achievements of the joint Sikorsky, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and U.S. Marine Corps team," Mike Torok, Sikorsky's vice president for the CH-53K program, said. "This is what we have been striving for — to deliver this amazing capability to the U.S. Marine Corps."

Ultimately, the Marine Corps hopes to buy 200 CH-53K under its "Program of Record." The service will eventually have eight active duty squadrons, one training squadron and one reserve squadron of CH-53Ks if it completes all of its planned purchases of the new helicopter.

The King Stallion — though it shares a common designation with earlier CH-53 helicopters — is a completely new aircraft from earlier machines in the series. The new helicopter has about as much in common with the previous CH-53E as the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet does with earlier "classic" F/A-18A/B/C/D model Hornets — basically nothing.

Compared to the CH-53E, the King Stallion has three times the lift capability and has a cabin that is a full foot wider. The wider cabin gives the new helicopter massively increased internal volume — enough to carry an HMMWV or a European Fenneck armored personnel carrier inside while still leaving the troop seats installed. Additionally, its external hooks can lift three independent external loads simultaneously — which is a huge capability boost for the Marine Corps.

In terms of its flying characteristics, the CH-53K is much improved over its predecessor. The King Stallion features full authority fly-by-wire flight controls and mission management systems that reduce the pilot's workload.

Some of the helicopters new features include advanced stability augmentation, flight control modes that include attitude command-velocity hold, automated approach to a stabilized hover, position hold and precision tasks in degraded visual environments, and tactile cueing. All of these features make the helicopter easier to fly and safer for the Marines the aircraft will carry into battle.

https://warisboring.com/the-king-stallion-is-the-heaviest-u-s-military-helicopter/

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U.S. Marine Corps Awards Contract to Lockheed Martin to Begin CH-53K Helicopter Production

Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, has awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 1 contract to build two production CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. This contract follows the April 4, 2017, Milestone C decision by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) approving LRIP production. 

The CH-53K helicopter on a test flight at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Gaining the U.S. Marine Corps approval to enter into production and the award of the first contract are milestones made possible by the tremendous achievements of the joint Sikorsky, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and U.S. Marine Corps team," said Dr. Mike Torok, vice president, CH-53K programs. "This is what we have been striving for - to deliver this amazing capability to the U.S. Marine Corps."

Under the $303,974,406 million contract, Sikorsky will deliver two production aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps in 2020 along with spares and logistical support. Aircraft assembly will take place at Sikorsky's headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut.

"We have just successfully launched the production of the most powerful helicopter our nation has ever designed. This incredible capability will revolutionize the way our nation conducts business in the battlespace by ensuring a substantial increase in logistical through put into that battlespace. I could not be prouder of our government-contractor team for making this happen," said Col Hank Vanderborght, U.S. Marine Corps program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command's Heavy Lift Helicopters program, PMA-261.

The CH-53K King Stallion provides unmatched capability with three times the lift capability of its predecessor, the CH-53E Super Stallion. The helicopter cabin, a full foot wider, gives increased payload capacity to internally load 463L cargo pallets, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) or a European Fenneck armored 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. These true heavy lift internal and external cargo improvements give the Marine Corps tremendous mission flexibility and efficiency in delivering combat power in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force or in delivering humanitarian assistance or disaster relief to those in need.

The King Stallion also brings enhanced safety features for the warfighter. Full authority fly-by-wire flight controls and mission management reduce pilot workload enabling the crew to focus on mission execution. Features include advanced stability augmentation, flight control modes that include attitude command-velocity hold, automated approach to a stabilized hover, position hold and precision tasks in degraded visual environments, and tactile cueing. These features permit the pilot to focus confidently on the mission at hand while operating in degraded environments.

The CH-53K's internal health monitoring systems with fault detection/fault isolation, coupled with a digital aviation logistics maintenance system that interfaces with the Fleet Common Operating Environment for fleet management, provides improved combat readiness for the Marine Corps.

The U.S. Department of Defense's Program of Record remains at 200 CH-53K aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps intends to stand up eight active duty squadrons, one training squadron, and one reserve squadron to support operational requirements.

http://news.lockheedmartin.com/2017-09-01-U-S-Marine-Corps-Awards-Contract-to-Lockheed-Martin-to-Begin-CH-53K-Helicopter-Production

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Patuxent River Welcomes CH-53K to Flight Line



PATUXENT RIVER, Md. --- The first CH-53K King Stallion to touch down at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland arrived June 30. Relocated from Sikorsky's Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, it is the first of seven aircraft expected to arrive over the next 12 months.

At NAS Patuxent River, the helicopter will undergo various flight quality, ground and avionics test events. This particular CH-53K is an Engineering Development and Manufacturing Model (EDM), specifically designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the platform throughout the testing process. The helicopter will be operated and maintained by a joint team of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21, NAVAIR and Sikorsky pilots, aircrew, engineers and maintainers.

"With each flight hour logged on this platform, we are one step closer to bringing our nation's most powerful helicopter to the Marines," said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Hank Vanderborght, program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) Heavy Lift Helicopters program, PMA-261.

The successful ferry flight follows the Milestone C decision in March, approving the program to proceed with low-rate initial production. CH-53K production is expected to begin Summer 2017, and initial operational capability and initial operational test and evaluation are on pace for 2019.

"This is an exciting moment for the program; transitioning the aircraft to Pax River is the result of thousands of hours of dedicated service by the government and industry teams," Vanderborght said.

With more than triple the payload capability and a 12-inch wider internal cabin than its predecessor (CH-53E Super Stallion), the CH-53K's payload capability can take the form of a variety of relevant payloads ranging from an internally loaded High Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or the European Fennek armored personnel carrier. In addition, it can handle up to three independent external loads at once, which gives mission flexibility and system efficiency.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/185098/ch_53k-flies-to-pax-river-for-further-flight-testing.html

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Paris Air Show: Test pilot talks CH-53K

https://vimeo.com/222841660

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PARIS: NAVAIR exploring shorter test schedule for CH-53K

FlightGlobal

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CH-53K King Stallion: The Modern Solution for True Heavy Lift

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Sikorsky bullish on export prospects for CH-53K helicopter

FlightGlobal

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Lockheed's Helicopter Seen Costing More, Taking Longer (....  $ 144 miljoen USD ... daar kun zeker 3 Chinooks CH-47F voor kopen .. )

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s new King Stallion helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps is likely to cost $144 million each, 4 percent more than projected by the service, and be ready to deploy a year later than planned, according to the Pentagon's cost assessment office.

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http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/183549/c_53k-unit-cost-now-seen-at-%24144m.html

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Pentagon greenlights CH-53K production

FlightGlobal

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DOD demurs on production go-ahead for CH-53K

FlightGlobal

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Total cost of CH-53K is $131 million per helicopter: Here's the breakdown

If the CH-53K King Stallion were a new car, its sticker price would be $87.1 million, but with title, tax and tags it would run $131 million per helicopter.


The Marine Corps ultimately plans to buy 200 CH-53Ks by 2029 to replace its fleet of aging CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, which have the most serious readiness problems of all aircraft in the Marine Corps' current fleet.

Earlier this month, Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., asserted that the price for each CH-53K had ballooned from $87.1 million to $122 million per helicopter, which is made by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.

"So that cost growth, multiplied times 200, is a heck of a lot of money," Tsongas said at a March 10 House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee hearing. "And even if there is no additional cost growth, it seems worth pointing out that $122 million per aircraft in 2006 dollars exceeds the current cost of an F-35, an aircraft for the Air Force, by a significant margin."

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But the $87.1 million figure does not include ancillary and development costs, said Vanderborght, program manager for Marine Corps and Navy heavy lift helicopters. 

The CH-53K costs include $19.2 billion in procurement costs, including ancillary equipment, such as engine covers; labor costs for engineers; spare parts and other expenses, Vanderborght said.

When you add the $6.9 billion in research and development for the CH-53K, you get a total cost of $26.1 billion, which comes to about $131 million for each helicopter, he said.

However, the cost of each helicopter could go down further based on foreign military sales, Vanderborght said. The Germans have expressed interest in buying up to 41 CH-53Ks, he said.

"You add another 25 percent to your production run, production unit cost goes down," Vanderborght said.

Having foreign militaries such as the Germans purchase CH-53Ks would also allow the Marine Corps to share sustainment costs with allies, he said.

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/manning-gaps-canceled-operations-and-broken-ships-on-tap-if-congress-cant-pass-a-budget