King Stallion update

The CH-53K King Stallion is scheduled to join Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) 1 at MCAS New River (NC) by late October 2020. The USMC took already delivery of the first CH-35K on 16 May 2018, but the promising programme schedule was set back due to 126 technical issues on the helicopter. To solve all these issues, the manufacturers needed two years. Currently 118 of the 126 issues have been solved, of which the most important ones, the exhaust gas reingestion issue which caused the aircraft’s engine to suck back in dirty air, reducing its power, is reengineered. Now the King Stallion is capable of lifting more than three times the weight of its predecessor (27,000 pounds in a 110 nautical miles range).

Now nearly all the technical issues have been solved and only a few tests remain before the King Stallion can be cleared for operational testing with VMX-1. The squadron will move the King Stallion toward completion of developmental test in early 2021, leading to Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) in 2021. The first deployment for the CH-53K is expected to take place in either late 2023 or early 2024.

As always... budget becomes an issue these days. In 2017, the USMC planned a Unit Flyaway Cost of USD 92 million per CH-53K, but this amount has risen to a massive USD 148 million per CH-53K. The USMC is now looking to cut down costs while the manufacturers are hoping to see enough orders (including export orders) to bring down the average Unit Flyaway Cost down to USD 87 million.

The provisional cancellation of an possible order of export candidate Germany (see Scrambe news Germany cancels CH-53 replacement programme), will not help to bring down the Unit Flyaway Cost price. So eyes are now focusing on countries like Israel and Japan, and possibly Germany again in a new acquisition race.

Photo: Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky