Scott Nicholas
Lockheed Martin‘s helicopter subsidiary Sikorsky has conducted an air vehicle preliminary design review for its Combat Rescue Helicopter program that will look to replace the U.S. Air Force‘s HH-60G Pave Hawk.
The conclusion of the preliminary design review on the HH-60W air vehicle moves the program forward to detailed design work on the air vehicle and logistics system as well as a preliminary design review of the training systems in August, Lockheed said Monday.
Tim Healy, Sikorsky CRH program director, said the company will work to accelerate the program toward production to help reduce risk in the operations of the Air Force’s rescue crew.
Sikorsky received a potential $7.9 billion contract from the Air Force in June 2014 for 112 UH-60 Black Hawks equipped with Lockheed-built mission systems to be used for combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations and replace the HH-60G.
The HH-60W is a variant of the Black Hawk and features design updates that work to manage fuel capacity, range capacity and cabin space.
The Pave Hawk will also feature GE T700-701D engines, wide-cord main rotor blades and machined aerostructures that address fatigue and corrosion risks and looks to sustain maneuverability at high-density altitudes.
Sikorsky will outfit the aircraft with an in-house developed mission planning system, defensive system, data links, mission computers and weather sensors.
