Costly Program Sees Another Price Drop as 42 of 200 King Stallions Now Ordered

Sikorsky is continuing production of another 9 additional CH-53K King Stallion helicopters as the Navy exercised the option of its 2021 Lot 6 contract. That deal allowed a small batch of the aircraft to be produced as part of the wider production run in an effort to restrict runaway costs in the build process. Ultimately, at least 200 of the helicopters are listed in the Program of Record, of which 47 remain in varying states of production. The company, a part of the Lockheed Martin umbrella, got an $878.7 million contract for Lot 5 of the helicopters last June, which included an option for this Lot 6 contract that was expected to cost $852.5 million for 9 aircraft