Sikorsky Pushing for Early Combat Rescue Helicopter Production Decision, Deliveries
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The first Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter as it enters final assembly at Stratford, Conn., in February. Sikorsky photo
The pilots enjoy increased ballistic protection by way of thicker armor. The armor plating in the Pave Hawk only protects from standard 7.62 mm ball ammunition but the W model will add protection from 7.62 mm armor-piercing rounds.
Versus the Pave Hawk, the W model has a “more elegant” side-gun mounting design. They won’t stick out as far from the aircraft and will be able to universally accept GAU-2, GAU-18, and GAU-21 guns, Healy said.
Special mission aviators and pararescuemen will be able to see mission data in the back of the aircraft, where three full-color displays are mounted. For the first time, pararescuemen will have crash-worthy seats, which can be folded up to the ceiling of the cabin. In the Pave Hawk, PJs sit on the cabin floor and take their chances.
Sikorsky is under contract for 39 training “devices,” which will include full-motion simulators for the pilots and special mission aviators. Additionally, there are operational flight trainers and part-task trainers focused on systems such as landing gear and hoists. Sikorsky is also developing maintenance system trainers for crew chiefs to work on at the Fort Eustis, Va. schoolhouse.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
Related Content
A massive contract to manage thousands of PCS moves failed because U.S. Transportation Command did not adequately oversee the results, according to the Government Accountability Office.
NATO is bolstering defenses on its eastern border with Russia following the intrusion of Russian drones into the alliance's airspace in Poland last week. The alliance launched a new operation called Eastern Sentry on Sept. 12 in response with an immediate focus on air defense, especially drones.
On Sept. 12, the Air Force released half a dozen new photos of the second B-21 bomber to fly, giving observers and aviation enthusiasts another glimpse of the secretive Raider.
The Air Force’s plans for a new special operations wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., to replace retiring A-10s are moving forward—and changing.
The U.S. military is deploying significant airpower in the Caribbean one week after carrying out an airstrike on what it said was a boat operated by a Venezuelan drug cartel.
The Air Force believes it could continue to operate its Minuteman III missiles until 2050 if needed, according to a newly released report from the Government Accountability Office—but doing so poses serious challenges to sustain their aging technology.
The Air Force last month kicked off a feedback-gathering campaign about a plan to transform one of its largest and most important career fields: aircraft maintenance.
A second B-21 bomber has flown from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base in California, ramping up the Air Force’s test effort for its new fleet.
U.S. Space Force contractors are building an AI-powered tool to detect cyberattacks on satellites by directly monitoring the behavior and telemetry outputs of satellite systems in orbit, executives said this week.
