Israel to buy four Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters and avionics under terms of a $372 million order
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – Engineers at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Conn., will build four CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters and integrated avionics systems for the government of Israel under terms of a $372 million order announced Tuesday.
Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, to deliver four low rate initial production, Lot 6, CH-53K helicopters and logistical support to the Israeli military.
The CH-53K King Stallion is a large cargo helicopter designed to replace the U.S. Marine Corps fleet of CH-53E heavy-lift helicopters to help move warfighters and their equipment from ships offshore onto attack beaches.
The Israeli and U.S. governments reached an agreement for Israel to buy the Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter last December. The CH-53K is a general redesign of the CH-53E.
Related: King Stallion: the future of U.S. Marine Corps heavy lift helicopters for airborne resupply
The CH-53K sea-based, long range, helicopter is designed to provide three times the lift capability of its predecessor. The CH-53K is designed to conduct expeditionary heavy-lift transport of armored vehicles, equipment, and personnel to support distributed operations deep inland from a sea-based center of operations, Sikorsky officials say. It can lift more than 18 tons.
The CH-53K, compared to its predecessor, has new engines and cockpit avionics. It has more than twice the lift capacity and combat radius of the CH-53E. The helicopter has a wider cargo hold to enable the new aircraft to carry a light combat vehicle internally, and has new composite rotor blades. It uses the General Electric GE38-1B engine.
It can operate at high altitudes, in hot temperatures, and in degraded visual conditions. It can carry a sling load 36,000 pounds; can fly faster than 200 knots; can make 60-degree-angle bank turns; can climb to 18,500 feet above sea level; can conduct 12-degree slope landings and takeoffs; can auto-jettison external loads; and survive gunfire.
The CH-53K first flew in late 2015, and the helicopter was introduced to U.S. Marine Corps squadrons in 2018. The Marines plan to buy 227 CH-53K helicopters for about $23.3 billion.
Related: Israel orders on-the-go satellite communications
The Raytheon Technologies Corp. Collins Aerospace segment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is providing the CH-53K's avionics management system; Sanmina-SCI Corp. in San Jose, Calif., is providing the new helicopter's intercommunications System; and Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., is providing the CH-53 cockpit and cabin. Other major subcontractors are GKN Aerospace in Redditch, England; and Onboard Systems International in Vancouver, Wash.
Collins Aerospace is providing the company's Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) for the CH-53K. The CAAS integrates several communications, navigation and mission subsystems through its Flight2 system. It uses common reusable processing elements in an open-systems architecture based on commercial standards.
The Collins Aerospace CAAS avionics initially was developed for the Special Operations Forces' MH-47 and MH-60 helicopter fleets. In addition to the CH-53K, CAAS avionics also has been selected for the CH-47F, MH-60T, MH-65E, and VH-60N aircraft.
The Sanmina-SCI FireComm Intercommunications Control System for the CH-53K uses digital processing techniques and controls. Its system architecture uses the MIL-STD-1553 avionics data bus; the IEEE 1394b data bus; 10/100 Base-T Ethernet; and TIA/EIA-485 interface ports.
On this order Sikorsky will do the work in Stratford, Conn.; Wichita, Kan.; Salt Lake City; St. Louis; Bridgeport, W.Va.; Redmond and Kent, Wash.; Quebec; Cudahy, Wis.; Rochester, England; Fort Walton Beach and Jupiter, Fla.; Rome, N.Y.; Saint Marcel, France, and should be finished by November 2025.
For more information contact Sikorsky Aircraft online at www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/sikorsky.html, Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil, or the Israel Ministry of Defense at www.gov.il/en/departments/ministry_of_defense/govil-landing-page.
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John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.