Army awards Stratford’s Sikorsky Aircraft $2.3 billion contract for fleet of Black Hawk helicopters

CT Post

By: Liz Hardaway

June 27, 2022


STRATFORD — The U.S. Army awarded Sikorsky Aircraft a $2.3 billion contract Sunday for dozens of combat helicopters, the company announced.

For the five-year contract, the Stratford-based company will deliver 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters. It will have the option to make 255 total aircraft potentially worth up to $4.4 billion, Sikorsky’s parent company Lockheed Martin said in a news release.

The “Multi-Year X” contract is the 10th multi-year contract between Sikorsky and the U.S. government for H-60 helicopters.

“With more than 2,100 H-60 variants in the U.S. Army’s inventory, the Black Hawk continues to be the workhorse and backbone of U.S. Army Aviation,” the company stated.

The Army awarded the contract Sunday and said the work will be performed in Stratford. Lockheed Martin said deliveries will begin in July and continue through 2027.

“Decades of Black Hawk production and enhancements, strong program execution and close partnership with the Army has kept the program thriving, and this contract is a testament to that success,” said Nathalie Previte, the vice president of Sikorsky’s Army and Air Force programs. “Additionally, we continue to see strong international interest in the Black Hawk due to its versatility and proven record of providing unwavering support to the U.S. and nations around the globe.”

Sikorsky, with Boeing, is a finalist in the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft project. The Sikorsky-Boeing team is going up against Bell Textron Inc. to replace the Army’s fleet of Black Hawks.

The aircraft “will develop and field the next generation of affordable vertical lift tactical assault/utility aircraft for the Army,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army will likely award the FLRAA contract in September, according to BreakingDefense.com.

Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky’s parent company, reached an agreement with the state in late May to keep production work in Connecticut if it secures federal contracts for new helicopter programs.

The agreement stipulates that Lockheed Martin will keep Sikorsky’s headquarters in Stratford until 2024. The company also agreed to maintain more than 7,000 direct jobs at its Connecticut facilities in Stratford, Bridgeport, Shelton, North Haven and Trumbull.

Lamont said the agreement would also indirectly support thousands more jobs in the state through the small businesses from which Sikorsky purchases supplies. In May, the company had about 240 suppliers in the state.

Click here to view this article as it originally appeared on the CT Post website.