Kacey Roberts
Lockheed Martin‘s Sikorsky subsidiary has delivered the initial airframe replacement for the MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The delivery forms part of a 10-year life extension program aimed at prolonging the service life of the 45-helicopter fleet into the 2040s, Lockheed said Thursday.
Under a $374 million contract, Sikorsky is expected to deliver all 45 MH-60T airframes at a rate of 12 per year until 2027. The fleet has been operating for over three decades and is nearing its 20,000 flight-hour limit.
The first helicopter rebuild, which will involve integrating a new nose, cabin and aft transition structures, is slated to commence at the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in North Carolina this month.
In October, USCG authorized Sikorsky to begin the full-rate production of the fourth replacement airframe.
