Esterline awarded Sikorsky contract extension

Esterline Corporation has announced that its Avionics Systems platform has received a $23.6 million extension to a purchase order from Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation for an additional quantity of its CMC Electronics brand CMA-2082MC Flight Management System (FMS) and CMA-2088 Emergency Control Panel (ECP) in support of the US Army UH-60M and S-70i international Black Hawk helicopters.

Deliveries are scheduled to the end of 2012. The original purchase order, awarded in January 2007, supports Sikorsky's Multi-Year 7 contract with the US Army. Two Flight Management Systems and one Emergency Control Panel are installed per aircraft.

Esterline CEO, Brad Lawrence, said, "This extension to our contract with Sikorsky is excellent news and a solid show of confidence in our Flight Management System to support the needs of the US Army."

Esterline Avionics Systems President, Greg Yeldon, added, "By utilizing an open architecture design, our FMS is proving to be a powerful and flexible platform with excellent growth capability. Our customers can upgrade their systems easily and be in a position to meet future requirements."

The CMC Flight Management System is currently flown on the HH-60M MEDEVAC, the UH-60M Utility/Troop Transport as well as the S-70i helicopters. CMC products on the Black Hawk helicopter date back to the early 1990s when a CMC integrated communications and navigation system was developed for the US Army National Guard UH-60Q helicopter. This was the first US Army medical evacuation aircraft to have its communication and navigation equipment integrated via a 1553 data bus. This system was later mandated as a standard for the UH-60M helicopter.

The CMA-2082MC is a complete FMS with radio management. It features an extensive portfolio of navigation, communications, database, mission and display software. For added flexibility, the CMA-2082MC offers multiprocessor support for the development of independent or customer designed software applications. The CMC modular FMS is powerful and flexible, with the added benefits of small size, low weight and reduced cost.

Source: Esterline