BLOOMFIELD, Conn., 27 January 2005. Kaman Corp. announced today that its Kaman Aerospace Corp. subsidiary has received a contract from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. to manufacture cockpits for various models of Sikorsky's UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
The multi-year contract calls for Kaman Aerospace's Aerostructures Division to supply 84 cockpits for Sikorsky's UH-60L, MH-60S, UH-60M and S-70A model helicopters. The value of the initial contract to Kaman is approximately $27.7 million for production through 2006. The multi-year agreement with follow-on options, if fully exercised, has a total potential value to Kaman of approximately $100.0 million and would include the fabrication of approximately 349 units.
The work will be performed at the Kaman Aerospace facilities in Jacksonville, Fla. In addition to the cockpit structure, Kaman will also install all wiring harnesses, hydraulic assemblies, control pedals and sticks, seat tracks, pneumatic lines, and the composite structure that holds the helicopter windscreen. Delivery of the first cockpit to Sikorsky is scheduled in March 2005.
Sikorsky's UH-60M Black Hawk is designed to replace the UH-60L as the standard configuration for all new U.S. Army Black Hawk production. The U.S. Army's aviation modernization plan calls for improvements that will position the Black Hawk as the service's primary utility helicopter for decades to come. The MH-60S Knighthawk, the U.S. Navy's newest multi-mission helicopter, is an amalgam of the UH-60L Black Hawk and its Navy variant, the SH-60B Seahawk. The S-70A is an international Black Hawk.
In addition to subcontract work on aircraft structures and components, Kaman's Aerospace segment markets the company's K-MAX and SH-2 Super Seasprite helicopters, designs and manufactures safe, arm and fuzing devices for missiles and bombs, and is a leading manufacturer of specialty aircraft bearing products for commercial and military aircraft.
"Contracting with Kaman to manufacture the H-60 cockpit allows Sikorsky to shift resources and free floor space for other operations in Connecticut, without reducing employment, and better meet the needs of our customers," said Clarence Grebey, Sikorsky's vice president for communications and marketing.
Kaman Corporation conducts business in the aerospace, industrial distribution and music markets. For more information, see www.kaman.com.
