"Four Pillars," Seven Programs Set To Take Off

Touting its busy production lines and a schedule of first flights for seven programs in 2008, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. continues to chart a path for future growth after doubling revenues over the last four years, Sikorsky President Jeffrey P. Pino told attendees Monday at the Farnborough International Air Show.

Sikorsky established "four pillars of growth" -- growth with margin expansion, excellence in execution, technological leadership, and globalization -- as a guide for company progress two years ago at the Farnborough show. "To say that I am excited at the prospects of growth and industry-changing innovation is an understatement. Sikorsky in 2008 is poised to mark an unprecedented period of milestones and growth," Pino said.

Sikorsky's revenue reached a record $4.8 billion in 2007, and its backlog has grown to $12 billion from $6.9 billion in 2004. Current US government production programs include the MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters for the US Navy, and the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for the US Army.

The programs call for 271 and 298 of the Navy's MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters, respectively. Sikorsky is in full-rate production for the US Army's newest Black Hawk, the UH-60M. This program is expected to produce more than 1,200 aircraft. "Our H-60 product lines are in a strong growth period as both the Army and Navy continue to replenish their fleets," Pino said.

In addition, Sikorsky is developing the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter for the US Marine Corps under a $3 billion System Development and Demonstration contract. The SDD contract could lead to the production of 156 CH-53K aircraft to replace roughly an equal number of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters in the Marine Corps' current inventory.

Development money and production quantities for all government programs are determined year-by-year over the life of the program based on funding allocations set by Congress and Pentagon acquisition priorities.

The S-92 helicopter and S-76 helicopter product lines continue to lead the resurgence in Sikorsky's commercial aircraft business. "The H-92 helicopter, a military version of our S-92 aircraft, is on static display here in Farnborough, and we are preparing to bring it on a world tour beginning in Europe. We at Sikorsky are very optimistic about our future, as we see strong growth across all of our product lines, and the S-92 helicopter and its variants are a key component of that future growth," Pino said.

In May, the S-76 fleet passed 5 million flight hours, and Sikorsky delivered the 700th aircraft in the series earlier this year. In approximately four years since the start of production deliveries, the S-92 helicopter fleet has accumulated 100,000 flight hours. Offshore oil S-92 helicopter operators are flying between 130 and 170 hours per month, a testament to the aircraft's sturdiness and ease of maintenance.

In Sikorsky's global operations, modernization projects continue at the PZL Mielec facility in Poland, and the first Black Hawk helicopter cabins are due to be delivered from there later this year. In China, S-76 helicopters are now being built under a joint venture of Shanghai Sikorsky and AVIC II.

In addition to the CH-53K helicopter for the Marine Corps, other current development programs include The International Black Hawk helicopter, to be produced at PZL Mielec with deliveries expected to begin in 2011; The H-92 helicopter, the first military variant of the S-92 helicopter, is scheduled to fly in the fourth quarter. Twenty-eight of these militarized S-92 helicopters are scheduled to be built for the Canadian Air Force.

Sikorsky is also working on the UH-60M Upgrade helicopter, scheduled to fly in the third quarter. This latest version of the Black Hawk helicopter is a fly-by-wire aircraft with a Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) cockpit being developed under a $260 million development contract with the US Army. Ultimately, it is expected to lead to initial production of approximately 1,000 aircraft.

Over on the civil side, Sikorsky's X2 Technology Demonstrator is on the verge of its first flight as well. The prototype represents a new generation of rotorcraft that combines an integrated suite of technologies intended to advance the state-of-the-art, counter-rotating coaxial rotor helicopter. It is designed to demonstrate a helicopter can cruise comfortably at 250 knots, while retaining such desirable helicopter attributes as excellent low speed handling, efficient hovering and autorotation safety, with seamless and simple transition to high speed.

The S-76D helicopter, the latest version of the S-76 helicopter, which includes a new composite rotor blade, Pratt & Whitney 210S engines, Quiet Design Tail Rotor, Active Vibration Control, Rotor Ice Protection System, and Thales advanced avionics. First flight is expected by year-end, and Sikorsky says it already has about 100 position agreements on the aircraft. And the Sikorsky-Schweizer S-434 helicopter, with a four-bladed rotor system based on the existing S-333 helicopter, is slated for its first flight in the fourth quarter.

FMI: www.sikorsky.com