The US Navy (USN) is to begin negotiations with Sikorsky for the low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter, the service disclosed on 14 January.
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| US Navy CH-53. |
Lots 1 and 2 will be negotiated for two and four LRIP helicopters respectively. The intended contract will be initially issued as an Advance Acquisition Contract (AAC) in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 for long-lead items in support of the subsequent production buys.
The announcement of the imminent commencement of LRIP negotiations follows the official roll-out of the CH-53K in May 2014. The operational evaluation (OPEVAL) phase of the programme is expected to begin in early-2017, with the first of an expected 200 production helicopters due to be delivered to the US Marine Corps (USMC) from about 2019.
Although about the same size as the CH-53E currently in service, the CH-53K is promoted as being able to lift nearly triple the external payload. Other enhancements include a 'glass cockpit', fly-by-wire flight controls, upgraded rotor blades to improve lift and speed performance, a low-maintenance rotorhead, more powerful engines, a locking cargo rail system, external cargo-handling improvements, as well as survivability upgrades. Operation and support costs should also be much lower than is currently the case with the older model helicopters.
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