CH-53K will have an all-digital cockpit, new engines (three of them), composite rotor blades, and all sorts of other enhancements. It is a game-changer that no adversary will be able to match in capability, reliability or survivability.įor an outsider like myself, the most striking feature of King Stallion is that Sikorsky could add so much performance to an airframe that doesn’t look much different from what it will replace. And the helicopter in turn can be transported around the world inside Air Force C-5 and C-17 airlifters.Īfter 1,400 hours of flight tests, it is clear King Stallion can do everything the Marine Corps needs, a point that was stated emphatically before Congress by the service’s aviation chief earlier this month. Not only will CH-53K be able to routinely lift the aforementioned “joint light tactical vehicle” in a sling, but it will be able to transport the existing Army/Marine Corps Humvee internally in its cabin. King Stallion was designed to meet the needs of a sea-based service ready for action on short notice anywhere, anytime. Just because national strategy has shifted from fighting Islamic terrorists to deterring Russia and China doesn’t mean the military won’t find itself fighting in hot, austere conditions in the future. The way the Marines figure it, if you posture yourself as the first responder for whatever military emergency arises, you must be able to operate under any circumstances. As one senior Marine put it to me a while back, “You may be done with the Middle East, but the Middle East may not be done with you.” So the Marines want a helicopter that can lift pretty much anything, even in the “high-hot” conditions that have dogged other rotorcraft operations throughout the global war on terror. The Marine Corps has a different take on future lift requirements. The Secretary of the Army said just this week there were doubts about the need to lift that vehicle in future wars, and therefore a lower priority was being assigned to the requirement. rival for that market, the Boeing Chinook, ran into severe bureaucratic turbulence this year when the Army elected to forego upgrades that would have enabled it to lift the military’s next-generation jeep. The picture that emerges is of a program that has retired risk to a point where it not only can meet all Marine operational requirements, but will likely develop a sizable overseas customer base in places like Germany, Israel and Japan. Lockheed Martin is a consulting client and contributor to my think tank, so occasionally I get some insight into a program that goes beyond what has already appeared in the media. A CH-53K King Stallion lifts the Army/Marine Corps joint light tactical vehicle, a load no other.
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