Free Republic

With a range of 11,830 km and the capacity to carry 207,000 pounds of fuel, the KC-46 can refuel over 64 different types of aircraft and allow dozens of jets to remain airborne for up to 12 hours Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with the US government to acquire 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft. The US Defense Department’s Procurement Delegation signed the letters of acceptance (LOAs) with Israel on Thursday evening to replace the Israel Air Force’s CH-53 Yasur heavy-lift helicopters and Ra’am (Boeing 707) tanker aircraft that are required for...

Sikorsky Aircraft rolled out the CH-53K, the U.S. Marine Corps’ future heavy lift helicopter, on May 5 at the company’s West Palm Beach, Fla. facility. According to Sikorsky, the mostly composite helicopter—dubbed the “King Stallion”—will fly by year-end, with operational service expected in 2019. “The rollout of the CH-53K helicopter introduces a new era in Marine Corps aviation,” said Sikorsky president Mick Maurer. “The clean-sheet CH-53K will effectively triple the external load carrying capacity of the CH-53E aircraft—to more than 27,000 pounds over a mission radius of 110 nautical miles. With its 88,000-pound maximum gross weight, powerful new engines, lightweight...

Spirit AeroSystems has rolled out the Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter fuselage being delivered to support assembly of the first developmental test vehicle. The fuselage assembly, which includes composite cockpit and cabin sections designed and built by Spirit, was joined to a supplier-provided aft transition empennage section earlier in the month, the company said. "Rolling out this joined fuselage signifies a vital milestone on this program," said Kelley Gross, Spirit program director. "This event (Thursday) demonstrates Spirit's already established expertise as a composite assembly manufacturer as well as our far-reaching capabilities in the defense market."

NAVAIR PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 9, 2006 – A new heavy lift helicopter is now officially in the pipeline for the Marine Corps following a Dec. 22, 2005 decision by the Honorable. Kenneth R. Krieg, under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to authorize the Heavy Lift Replacement program here to begin a $4.4 billion development program for the aircraft. A "Cost Plus Award Fee" contract for the System Development and Demonstration phase, estimated to be approximately $2.9 billion, is expected to be signed with Sikorsky in March 2006. An Initial System Development and Demonstration contract worth $8.8...