Jane Edwards
Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have agreed to team up for a potential $4.9 billion contract to provide the German military with new heavy-lift helicopters designed to replace its current fleet of CH-53G aircraft, Reuters reported Monday.
The partnership came nearly two months after Germany cleared a plan to begin the competition for the contract that seeks to buy 45 to 60 helicopters.
Lockheed and Rheinmetall will offer Sikorsky’s CH-53K helicopter, while Boeing will propose its CH-47 Chinook aircraft.
Rheinmetall said in a statement to Reuters the partnership also aims to provide maintenance, training and program support services to Germany’s armed forces in addition to the helicopter.
German ministry officials are scheduled to hold a meeting on Feb. 28 to discuss the acquisition program with industry executives.
The country’s defense ministry expects to release a request for information by the second half of 2018 with plans to award a contract by mid-2020 and begin deliveries by 2023, the report added.
