Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky has been awarded a nearly US$11 billion contract from the US Navy to build up to 99 CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters for the US Marine Corps (USMC).
The contract is the largest order for the CH-53K aircraft to date, with the USMC planning to eventually procure up to 200 aircraft. Currently, there are 20 CH-53K in service with the marines and the aircraft is on track for its first deployment in FY2027, according to the US Navy (USN).
An additional 63 aircraft are in “various stages of production and assembly” according to Lockheed Martin.
According to Sikorsky,