Lockheed Martin [LMT] has selected the U.K.’s StandardAero as its manufacturing partner for its bid to offer the Sikorsky Black Hawk for the British military’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program.
If selected for NMH, Lockheed Martin noted about 40 percent of the total Black Hawk production and assembly would occur in the U.K.
“The newest generation of the Black Hawk is proven, versatile and ready now. It’s not only the right choice for U.K. defense, it’s the right choice for U.K. industry and it will create a generation of high-skilled jobs here in Britain,” Paul Lingston, chief executive of Lockheed Martin U.K., said in a statement.
The British Ministry of Defence’s NMH program is intended to find a placement for its Puma HC2 helicopter and other aircraft in its medium helicopter fleet, while details of the next steps in the effort are still to be finalized.
Last year, the U.K. notified Lockheed Martin, Leonardo and Airbus, which is now working with Boeing [BA], that they had moved past an initial pre-qualification downselect process for NMH.
“Today’s announcement comes as Lockheed Martin and its competitors await the [U.K.] MoD’s formal issuance of the Invitation to Negotiate,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement.
Lockheed Martin said its teaming agreement with StandardAero covers assembly, testing, delivery, maintenance and integration, with the latter company’s facility in Gosport, England to service as “the home of the Black Hawk in the U.K.”
“StandardAero is delighted to be teaming with Lockheed Martin U.K. on this once-in-a-generation helicopter program. For StandardAero U.K. it will mean upward of 175 new, highly skilled, jobs in one of the more economically deprived local areas of the U.K., with many more throughout our U.K.-based supply chain”
Additional U.K. based partners on Lockheed Martin’s team for NMH include Martin-Baker Aircraft Company, Curtiss-Wright, Chelton, Inspire, C3iA Solutions and Nova Systems.
In June 2022, the U.S. Army signed the expected final multi-year UH-60 Black Hawk contract with Sikorsky, awarding the company a five-year deal worth $2.3 billion for delivery of 120 H-60M helicopters (Defense Daily, June 27 2022).