By Carlo Munoz

American-based AAR Corp. is considering possible options to partner with Afghan National Security Forces to provide military airlift support to their indigenous operations, a senior company official said yesterday.

Jeff Schloesser, president of AAR’s aviation group, said a pending support contract for two modified, Sikorsky [UTX]-built S-92 helicopters with U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) for heavy airlift missions in Afghanistan would be solely focused on U.S. operations. “Our contract is to support U.S. military,” Schloesser said yesterday during a briefing on the pending TRANSCOM contract.

But when asked if the company was eyeing potential collaborations with the Afghan military, Schloesser replied: “As president of [the] AAR airlift group, I am always looking for other opportunities to serve a variety of customers.”

The company already has military airlift support contracts in place to support U.S. operations in Africa and Southeast Asia, Schloesser added. “What we are doing is providing services, generally expeditionary airlift, to [the] U.S. military…on a daily basis,” he said.

The two modified S-92s set to go in country will join the 38 AAR-run aircraft currently flying support missions in Afghanistan, Schloesser added. That current fleet in Afghanistan is a mix of fixed-wing and vertical lift aircraft and are used mostly to support TRANSCOM operations in country, he said.

AAR officials hope to officially lock in the support contract with TRANSCOM for the two helicopters by mid-February. The helicopters have already been delivered to AAR Corp. for modification work before their deployment later this year.

The TRANSCOM deal, once completed, is valued at $450 million to provide up to five years of airlift service in Afghanistan, according to a Sikorsky statement issued yesterday.

“Our focus right now at Sikorsky…is to ensure that these aircraft go into theater and operate as intended with a very strong support package, and we are aligned to do that,” Sikorsky’s S-92 Program Manager Spencer Elani, who also participated in yesterday’s briefing, said in regards to future partnership options outside of the current TRANSCOM deal.

Since entering service in 2004, Sikorsky has 129 S-92s deployed in 23 countries across the globe, conducting everything from search and rescue missions to VIP transport, Vice President for Sikorsky Global Helicopters Ed Beyer told reporters during the same briefing.

The next immediate opportunity to push more S-92s into theater “would really depend on the U.S. government need,” Elani said.

Schloesser declined to comment if command officials had expressed any interest to procure additional S-92s configured by AAR, but he did note that “in the future, there is a possibility” for additional acquisition, given the recent buildup of materiel and personnel in Afghanistan.

“That is a requirement [DoD] would have to state and put out,” Schloesser added, but noted that AAR –outside of any deal with the ANSF–also would be “obviously…interested in any further opportunities” to support U.S. efforts in Southwest Asia or in other regions.

The selection of the Sikorsky-built rotorcraft by AAR for the company’s latest contract with TRANSCOM was based on the command’s requirement to field a “super heavy-lift” capability, according to Schloesser.

With relatively few options, in terms of airframes, for program officials at AAR to choose from, he said, the Sikorsky platform seemed to be the airframe that could check all the boxes sought by TRANSCOM for Afghan operations.

“There are not that many aircraft overall that can meet that combination of heavy-lift capability and then the ruggedness and reliability that we were looking for,” according to Schlosser. That said, AAR executives believe they selected the “the right airframe” to carry out airlift missions in the high-altitude, austere environment that define Afghan operations, he added.

The two aircraft will be outfitted with the ability to carry both passengers and cargo in the same cargo hold. This will be the first time the S-92 will possess such a capability, Beyer said.

The helicopters will be able to carry between two to 19 passengers alongside three 4 ft. sq.-sized cargo pallets in various configurations, according to Elani. Program officials recently garnered approval by the Federal Aviation Administration for the passenger-cargo capability on the S-92. Such capability is already in place on board fixed-wing airlift platforms.

S-92 officials plan to offer the cargo and passenger option on board future variants of the helicopter, but will not integrate it as a basic capability, according to Elani. “It would not be part of the basic aircraft, unless the customer wanted that specific capability,” he said.