The Marine Corps’ next generation CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter successfully lifted off for the first time on a flight at West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, manufacturer Sikorsky announced. “Having independently tested the aircraft’s many components and subsystems … we are now moving on to begin full aircraft system qualification via the flight test program,” company program vice president Mike Torok said in a release. The clean-slate design is similar in size to the company’s legacy CH-53, but is capable of hefting a 27,000-pound payload—nearly triple the Marine Corps’ current version—some 110 nautical miles in hot and high-altitude conditions, according to the company. Improvements include more powerful turboshaft engines, fly-by-wire flight controls, advanced rotor blades, a glass-cockpit, standard pallet compatible cargo system, reliability enhancements, and a modern self-defensive suite. The marines plan to purchase a total of 200 CH-53Ks to replace the service’s current Sea Stallion fleet. Sikorsky will deliver four helicopters to support flight testing over the next three years. Initial operational capability is targeted for 2019.
With a little more than a week to go before the continuing resolution funding the federal government expires, lawmakers in Congress have still yet to reach an agreement on spending—and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is warning that dozens of programs and projects could be affected if no long-term agreement…