Army, Sikorsky sign 5-year Black Hawk helicopter contract

Officials from the United States government and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, signed a five-year contract for a baseline of 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters, with options to reach a total of 255 aircraft to be delivered to the U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Sikorsky continues to modernize and enhance the Black Hawk to meet the Army's challenging and evolving missions by continuously delivering aircraft thanks to a hot production line, mature well-established supply chain, and digital factory.

The "Multi-Year X" contract for UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC aircraft marks the 10th multiple-year contract for Sikorsky and the U.S. government for H-60 helicopters. With more than 2,100 H-60 variants in the U.S. Army's inventory, the Black Hawk continues to be the workhorse and backbone of U.S. Army Aviation. As the Army continues to develop its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capabilities, they will continue to operate the H-60M for the next several decades and alongside the future fleet.

The contract value for expected deliveries is approximately $2.3 billion, with a potential value of up to $4.4 billion, should options for additional aircraft be fully exercised. Multi-Year X deliveries are scheduled to begin in July 2022 and continue through 2027.

"This Multi-Year agreement allows the Army to meet current and future capability needs through upgrades, remanufacturing, replacement, and technology insertions," said Col. Calvin Lane, the Utility Helicopters project manager. "The efficiencies of this contract make the best use of limited resources and result in direct savings to the Army and to taxpayers."

"Decades of Black Hawk production and enhancements, strong program execution, and close partnership with the Army has kept the program thriving, and this contract is a testament to that success," said Nathalie Previte, vice president of Sikorsky's Army and Air Force programs. "Additionally, we continue to see strong international interest in the Black Hawk due to its versatility and proven record of providing unwavering support to the U.S. and nations around the globe."

"Sikorsky continues to invest in the Black Hawk platform – from sustainment to digital transformation and modernization – in order to provide our customers with the competitive edge they require," Previte added. "We have aligned our investments with the Army's technology roadmap, while leveraging Future Vertical Lift technologies to ensure the Black Hawk will be a key player in the Joint All Domain Operations environment and FVL ecosystem."

The H-60M Black Hawk multi-mission combat assault utility helicopter provides additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, active vibration control, improved producibility, enhanced handling qualities and situational awareness, and improved survivability.