S
ikorsky Aircraft’s CH-53K King
Stallion is the third generation
of the heavy-lift helicopter that
has served the US Marine Corps
for more than 50 years. It will replace the
CH-53E Super Stallion and is intended to
deliver big improvements in range, payload,
performance, cargo handling, turnaround
times and survivability.
Advanced technologies will result in a
major reduction of lifecycle costs over the CH-
53E, while improving reliability, maintainability
and interoperability.
When it enters service, the CH-53K will
become the rotary-wing backbone for the
Marines’ expeditionary missions.
Like its predecessors, it will be tasked
to take armoured vehicles, equipment
and personnel to support the war- ghting
philosophy of “distributed operations” deep
inland and launched from the sea.REPLACEMENT
The CH-53K was born out of the Heavy Lift
Replacement (HLR) programme, which began
in 2000 when the Marine Corps announced
plans to upgrade the CH-53E eet. The latter
had entered service in 1981, to replace the
CH-53A and ’D Sea Stallions which had
entered service in 1966 and 1969 respectively.
Award of a development contract was
anticipated for 2004 for what was then called
the CH-53X project which envisioned an
upgraded, more capable version of the ‘E’-type.
In September 2003, an evaluation of seven
existing aircraft platforms and four alternative
CH-53E designs was completed. The analysis
determined that only an enhanced CH-53
would meet performance and survivability
requirements, operating and support cost
goals, and in-service capability dates.
It also showed that construction of new
airframes was more cost effective thanupgrading the existing eet. In fact, lessons
learned from the USMC’s H-1 upgrades
and the US Army’s CH-47, revealed
remanufacture costs were nearly equal to
new production airframes. Additionally, the
need for a ‘pipeline’ of donor airframes would
negatively impact the service’s ability to
meet operational requirements. Ultimately, in
March 2004, the USMC announced plans to
purchase 156 new helicopters.
Formal research, development, test and
evaluation (RDT&E) efforts began when
Sikorsky received an initial $34m contract on
December 23 of that year. A $43.3m contract,
to continue with requirements de nition,
engineering trade studies and risk reduction
efforts, was awarded the following August.
Approval to enter the System Development
and Demonstration (SDD) phase was given
on December 22, 2005 and an $8.4m interim
SDD contract was awarded early in the newCH-53K
A NEW BREED OF STALLION
ikorsky Aircraft’s CH-53K King REPLACEMENT upgrading the existing eet. In fact, lessons
A NEW BREED OF STALLION
The US Marine Corps will gain a next-generation rotary
heavy-lift capability when its King Stallions are fi elded.
Tom Kaminski details the evolution of this new helicopter.
28 Aviation News incorporating Jets May 201828-32_ch53kDC.mf.indd 28 03/04/2018 17:25