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NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Sikorsky [LMT] last week detailed its new Armed Black Hawk mission kits, noting there’s growing demand for the modular upgrade from international customers.
Rich Benton, vice president and general manager of Sikorsky, told Defense Daily, following the Army and Special Operations Forces (SOF) initial work with the weapons kit, the company is now “opening up that conversation” with partner nations interested in the Black Hawk upgrade’s ability to enable additional missions such as air-mobile assault, close support and tactical lift.
“We have [received] continued interest for this capability. For the U.S. Army, it’s a complementary capability. But some of our other customers, where they don’t have multiple aircraft in their fleet and as the threats continue to evolve, they continue to ask for that capability,” Benton said in an interview at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference here.
Benton noted the Army developed the wing kit for Black Hawk in partnership with Fulcrum Concepts, and that SOF has been using the Armed Black Hawk configuration “for a while” and that Sikorsky delivered an initial mission kit to an international customer about a decade ago “at a very small quantity.”
“So for us, it’s not starting new. It’s taking what the Army has already done. They developed this wing kit. The Army holds the air worthiness [certification] for that wing kit. And it’s a capability that’s already proven,” Benton said.
Sikorsky at the show said that Black Hawk operators can choose from two production-ready mission kits designed for close support or precision strike capabilities, with the modular design allowing for a “three-hour mission reconfiguration.”
The modular weapons kit specifically includes a six-station weapons management suite, two 7.62 mm guns, a podded .50 CAL GP-19, a 19 rocket Modular Effects Launcher pod and “optional precision missiles,” according to Sikorsky.
The Army in November 2021 showcased the Fulcrum-developed Modular Effects Launcher during a Project Convergence event, highlighting a configuration integrated on a Black Hawk that consisted of carrying a four-shot rocket pod, two pneumatic launchers for launched effects and an M34 dummy Hellfire missile (Defense Daily, Nov. 9, 2021).
Benton noted the weapon systems for the mission kit can come fully integrated or federated, with Sikorsky aiming to offer a standard option that can be customized to specific customers’ needs rather than having “individual bespoke armed kits.”
“Customers want their mission capability when they get their aircraft, not [after] three, four or five years of development,” he said.
Sikorsky began investing last year in its effort to offer the mission kit to Black Hawk customers in other countries, which Benton said was “driven by continued international interest.”
“And that investment will take us through next year. And then, effectively, we can offer it as an option. And our plan is to offer it as a green option and then if a customer wants to tailor it for their specific mission, we’ll go do that. Instead of developing a unique option for every specific customer, [it’s] having something we can offer as a standard option and then we can missionize it for their specific missions,” he said. “That’s why we’re making that investment, because we believe there’s a need, there’s an interest and we’re going to come in at a price point that’s going to be very effective against the threats they now have to get after. And and the threats have evolved.”
“We’ve heard customers over the last several years saying, ‘I want more out of the utility helicopter,’” Benton added.
Sikorsky noted the mission kits are available through both the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) processes, with the work to be supported by Lockheed Martin’s PZL Mielec business in Poland.
“It’s really two-fold. A customer wants to come and buy a FMS directly with the Army, they’re going to get the same effective kit…If they want to go DCS, that’s the investment we’re making to take that same kit and hold the airworthiness and qualify it on our commercial platform,” Benton said.
Col. Ryan Nesrsta, the Army’s project manager for the Utility Helicopters Project Office, said at the conference the service is exploring “novel contracting approaches” for a future Black Hawk deal beyond its current multi-year deal with Sikorsky, noting a likely need for continued procurement to meet sustained interest from international customers (Defense Daily, April 16).
