STRATFORD, Conn., Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky, a
Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), announced today that final
assembly of the first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter Weapons
System and Operational Flight Trainers is underway, supporting the
smooth entry of the aircraft into the U.S. Air Force fleet in
2020.
Completion of the HH-60W training systems at subcontractor
FlightSafety International's facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is expected in the
first quarter of 2019. The Weapons System Trainer will be based at
Kirtland Air Force Base,
New Mexico, home of the formal
HH-60W training unit. The Operational Flight Trainer will be at
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia,
site of the first operational unit.
The HH-60W flight trainers will conform to the highest
Federal Aviation Administration standards and include the
capability to link with other simulators on the Combat Air Forces
Distributed Mission Operations (CAF
DMO) network. The flight simulators will train the full
aircrew, allowing pilots and special mission aviators to train
together in the same device while experiencing more complex and
realistic training scenarios.
"I am excited to get these trainers in the hands of the U.S. Air
Force Rescue Warriors," said Tim
Healy, Director, Air Force Programs, Sikorsky. "The combat
rescue mission is uniquely challenging in that it requires much of
the mission planning to occur while in flight rather than prior to
flight. This is due to the time-critical nature of the mission
and the reality that the threat, location and condition of isolated
personnel to be rescued are not fully known prior to
takeoff. This requires that the aircrew become highly skilled
at using the enormous networking and information capabilities that
reside within the HH-60W, and that takes training and
practice. These Weapons Systems and Operational Flight
trainers will allow that training at the highest fidelity and
realism ever seen."
Sikorsky's current contract with the U.S. Air Force for the
Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase of the
program includes delivery of nine HH-60W helicopters as well as six
aircrew and maintenance training devices, and instructional
courseware designed specifically for the HH-60W aircraft. The
Program of Record calls for 112 helicopters to replace the Air
Force's aging H-60G Pave Hawk fleet, which performs critical combat
search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all U.S.
military services.
For more information about the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter,
visit www.lockheedmartin.com/crh.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture, integration and
sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
This year the company received three Edison Awards for
ground-breaking innovations in autonomy, satellite technology and
directed energy.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin