Kacey Roberts
Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky subsidiary has delivered another CH-53K helicopter to the U.S. Marine Corps, adding to the six already in operation at the service branch’s air station base in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
The defense company said Thursday the dispatch was the first from the Lot 2 contract awarded by the Navy to Sikorsky in 2019, with two more on track for delivery later this year.
The CH-53K was designed to provide maritime- and ground-based logistics support to USMC. It will be produced through 2032 and beyond, outlasting other heavy-lift helicopters currently in operation.
The USMC in April issued its initial operational capability declaration for the CH-53K program after the completion of initial test and evaluation procedures. The announcement underscored the aircraft’s compliance with its scheduled 2024 deployment.
Earlier this year, Lockheed was contracted to manufacture and deliver CH-53K helicopters to Israel under a Foreign Military Sales agreement. The aircraft will replace the country’s fleet of aging Sikorsky CH-53D Yasur helicopters.
