KEILA TORRES OCASIO ON JUL 13, 2017
SOURCE: MCCLATCHY
STRATFORD -- The U.S. government has ordered 257 H-60
Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft in a five-year deal valued at
$3.8 billion.
The contract marks the ninth time the U.S. has entered
into a multi-year agreement for Sikorsky's H-60 aircraft.
The previous contract, signed in July 2012, was a
five-year deal with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy for 653 Black Hawk and Seahawk
helicopters. While Stratford employees will be ramping up production of the
Black Hawks under the new agreement, Sikorsky workers in Troy, Ala., are seeing
declining production on the Seahawk.
That reduction led Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company,
to alert employees of the Alabama plant last week of layoffs there.
"Production of the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter -- the
primary source of work for the facility -- is declining after successfully
meeting customer requirements," said Paul Jackson, a Sikorsky spokesman,
in a statement. "A reduction is necessary at this time to ensure we remain
competitive. This will impact approximately 160 employees who will exit the
business by the end of August."
Deliveries of the Black Hawk helicopters produced in
Stratford, meanwhile, to the U.S. Army and foreign customers are scheduled to
begin in October and continue through 2022.
"Four decades of production, strong program
execution and delivery on behalf of the warfighter, coupled with great
affordability for the taxpayer, have been the cornerstones of this
program," said Sam Mehta, president of Defense Systems and Services for
Sikorsky. "This contract allows us to continue supporting the important
missions the Black Hawk performs as the workhorse utility and medical
evacuation helicopter in the U.S. Army inventory."
The contract also includes options for another 103
aircraft, which would push the worth of the contract over $5 billion. Sikorsky
has been delivering Black Hawks to the Army since 1978.
"This contract will provide our Army, sister
services and allies with state-of-the-art modernized helicopters to complete
crucial missions and save lives," said Col. Billy Jackson, the utility
helicopters project manager. "Moreover, this effort will stabilize our
manufacturing base and control long-term costs, and ultimately provide significant
savings to the taxpayer."
ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227
___ (c)2017 The Advocate (Stamford, Conn.) Visit The
Advocate (Stamford, Conn.) at www.stamfordadvocate.com Distributed by Tribune
Content Agency, LLC.
Source: aviationpros.com
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