Lockheed Martin‘s Sikorsky subsidiary plans to offer a modified version of the Black Hawk helicopter as a potential replacement for the U.S. Air Force‘s UH-1N Huey aircraft, DoD Buzz reported Wednesday.
Oriana Pawlyk writes Sikorsky will pitch its HH-60U platform that is currently part of the Air Force’s inventory to the UH-1N replacement program.
The military branch looks to procure 84 new helicopters as part of efforts to secure nuclear missile bases, Pawlyk reported.
The Air Force aims to release the final request for proposals this summer and award the contract in fiscal 2018 to achieve the first operational helicopter delivery in the 2020-2021 timeframe.
Samir Mehta, president of Sikorsky’s defense system and services segment, said the company believes the HH-50U model is a “low-risk” offering that can help the service branch to carry out national defense missions.