Sikorsky Aircraft has conducted ground testing of the engines of the next variant of the heavy lift CH-53 helicopter for the Marine Corps, the company said Monday.
The prototype CH-53K is designed to triple the external payload capacity to more than 27,000 pounds from the preceding CH-53E Super Stallion, said Sikorsky, a division of
United Technologies [UTX].
The latest round of testing that took place in January involved firing up the engines without rotors attached to check the endurance of the engines and components as well as survivability and maintenance issues, Sikorsky said.
“Having independently tested the aircraft’s many components and subsystems, including electrical and avionics, hydraulics and flight controls, landing gear, propulsion, transmissions and rotors, now we have begun testing these critical functions as an entire system powered by the (ground test vehicle) aircraft’s three GE 7,500 shaft horsepower class engines,” Mike Torok, Sikorsky’s CH-53K program vice president, said.
Once the engine testing is complete the next step will be to add seven rotor blades and four tail rotor blades for additional evaluation before eventually heading into flight tests. Sikorsky said four aircraft will be prepared for flight testing.
The Pentagon’s program of record for the CH-53Ks is 200 with initial operational capability scheduled for 2019, according to Sikorsky. The Marines plan to establish eight active duty squadrons for the aircraft as well as a training and a reserve squadron, Sikorsky said.