USMC’s New CH-53K King Stallion Cleared For Full-Rate Production

[Hamartia Antidote]

USMC's New CH-53K King Stallion Cleared For Full-Rate Production

Sikorsky will build up to 24 helicopters per year to supply King Stallions to the U.S. Marine Corps.

www.thedrive.com

With a decision by the U.S. Navy to begin full-rate production of the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter, Sikorsky will ramp up to building more than 20 King Stallions a year to supply the Marine Corps with a new heavy-lift rotorcraft capability.

The Marine Corps plan to purchase 200 CH-53Ks, and Sikorsky says it will build as many as two per month at the height of production, a total of 24 per year, to feed the service’s demand for a CH-53E Super Stallion replacement.

“Ramping up production of the most technologically advanced helicopter in the world allows the U.S. Marine Corps to build out its CH-53K King Stallion fleet and support mission success,” said Bill Falk, director of the Sikorsky CH-53K program. “This production authorization stabilizes Sikorsky’s domestic supply chain and is a testament to our enduring partnership with the Marine Corps.”

Sikorsky employees building CH-53K® aircraft utilizing 3-D work instructions, new titanium machining centers with multi-floor ergonomic platforms. Sikorsky Photo

Sikorsky, now owned by Lockheed Martin, is procuring long-lead items and critical materials to support executing full-rate production of its CH-53K helicopter at its factory in Stratford, Connecticut. The King Stallion is built in the same facility where Sikorsky builds all variants of the H-60 Black Hawk. Sikorsky will evict the Black Hawk line that currently runs parallel to CH-53K production in Stratford and will double capacity to accommodate full-rate production. Ongoing H-60 production will continue at a different location at the same facility.


The most-recent infographic from Sikorsky, seen below, shows 31 CH-53Ks in some state of production. In earlier interviews, Sikorsky officials said the Stratford facility could potentially produce as many as 36 King Stallions per year.

The announcement also marks the CH-53K entering its deployment phase, after a successful review of the program by Acting Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Frederick Stefany. A formal declaration of full rate producton was made Dec. 21, according to a statement from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

The Marine Corps declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the CH-53K helicopter in April, when 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina became the first became the first operational squadron to receive, maintain and operate the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter.

The CH-53K King Stallion successfully plugs into a funnel-shaped drogue towed behind a KC-130J during aerial refueling wake testing over the Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Erik Hildebrandt.
That validated the platform’s operational readiness to forward deploy Marines and equipment across the globe, according to NAVAIR. The aircraft is on schedule to fully equip its first unit and declare full operational capability in fiscal 2029, NAVAIR said. Israel has also chosen the CH-53K to replace its aging legacy CH-53 "Yas'ur" fleet. Given the choice between the CH-53K and Boeing's CH-47 Chinook tandem-rotor helicopter, Germany chose the Chinook in a head-to-head competition.

With the decision, NAVAIR’s H-53 Heavy Lift Program Office, also called PMA-261, can begin ordering larger quantities of helicopters, allowing for greater production efficiency and cost reduction. Sikorsky said it also instills greater confidence in its network of component part suppliers, of which there are more than 200 in 34 states.

“We have successfully demonstrated the performance and reliability of this aircraft,” said Col. Kate Fleeger, PMA-261 program manager. “With FRP, we will continue to build on the strong manufacturing, sustainment, and support established for the CH-53K.”
Reaching full-rate production is a major milestone for the CH-53K, which experienced growing pains that pushed back its timeline and delivery date on several occasions. After overcoming issues that included a cracked main rotor gearbox, the Marine Corps took delivery of the first test aircraft in 2018. It then experienced engine exhaust ingestion problems that have since been corrected. Another issue was the 53K's ability to fly in dusty environments similar to terrain commonly found during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment prepare to board a CH-53K King Stallion helicopter for an air assault training exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, June 10, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Yuritzy Gomez
Marines with the service’s Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, or VMX-1, have been training with several CH-53Ks at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina and elsewhere since the first delivery.

While still in operational test, in September 2021, two CH-53Ks from VMX-1 successfully recovered a Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter from Mount Hogue in the White Mountains of California. Two of the initial test aircraft flew across the country from North Carolina to California in August to test its aerial refueling and self-deploying capabilities and then practice desert and mountain operations at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. From there, one of the 53Ks recovered the Navy MH-60 from the mountainside where it made a hard landed and was left by its crew.

U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 carry a cargo container with a CH-53K King Stallion at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Aug. 11, 2022. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Adam Henke

The CH-53K is the largest operational helicopter in the U.S. military's inventory. Powered by three 7,500-shaft-horsepower General Electric GE38-1B engines, it has a maximum design gross weight of 88,000. The aircraft can lift 36,000 lb. (16,330 kg) on its underbelly center hook and carry 37 combat-equipped Marines on top of its two pilots and crew. When it enters service, it should be able to carry a 27,000 lb. external load 110 nautical miles on a 90-degree Fahrenheit day at an altitude of 3,000 feet. That’s more than triple the external load capacity of the CH-53E it will replace.
Increased range and payload capacity are of paramount importance to the Marine Corps, which foresees itself fighting over great distances in the Asia-Pacific region, where its forces will distributed over vast areas aboard ships and small islands.

Still, the King Stallion still has a lot to prove and big shoes to fill. The CH-53E has been a staple of the USMC for decades, but these aircraft are old and have been ran very hard, especially over two decades of perpetual warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, the CH-53K, if it lives up to its stated potential, should be a critical breath of fresh air for Marine Corps rotary-wing aviation.

 

[Bilal9]

The Russian Mi-26 has these things beat.

CH-53Ks can lift 16000 KG while the Mi-26's can lift 20,000 KG.

But I have seen the king stallions in action, they are VERY reliable and efficient. Quite active around Marine bases in Los Angeles (Camp Pendleton and Miramar especially) for ship-to-shore ops.

PLANAF in China does not have anything as big but they have some rather large-ish medium-sized ones nonetheless.

The Changhe Z-18 (modified license built Super Frelon)

A heavily modified (modernized) version of the Z-18 , now called Z-8G/L have also been seen. I don't know if the two below have the same basic "bones" or are two separate transport platforms.