Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Sikorsky Aircraft unit signed a five-year, potential $5.2 billion contract on June 30 to supply U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sales customers with 257 of the latest models of its H-60 Black Hawk helicopter fleet.
Sikorsky will deliver its new UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC helicopters under a $3.8 billion contract, with options for additional 103 aircraft adding potentially $1.4 billion more to the deal. The Pentagon will decide production quantities on a year-to-year basis with the first deliveries to begin in October and continue through 2022.
The UH-60M and HH-60M helicopters are designed to offer increased payload and range, digital avionics, increased situational awareness capabilities and active vibration control. The U.S. Army has been buying Black Hawks from Sikorsky since 1978.
“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,” Sikorsky President of Defense Systems and Services Sam Mehta in a statement.” 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 is the ninth multi-year deal with Sikorsky for Black Hawks.