The Hartford Courant March 23, 2011
Sikorsky Helicopter Prototypes To Be Built At Former Pratt Plant In Florida
By Marcia Heroux Poudns and Mara Lee
Five Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter prototypes, and perhaps more, will be assembled in Florida in 60,000 square feet of a building that previously served Pratt & Whitney's space unit, Rocketdyne.
Sikorsky Aircraft, based in Stratford, employs about 1,000 workers at the site.
"We expect the program will grow, but we really cannot predict how much at this time," said Marianne Heffernan, a spokeswoman for Sikorsky.
The Pentagon awarded Sikorsky $3 billion in 2006 to develop a replacement for the CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopter. The new helicopter will be about the same size, but will be able to carry three times as much, up to 27,000 pounds.
There are 650 workers in Stratford dedicated to the program, said Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson. But he said "no decision has been made yet" on where full production will take place.
Factors affecting that decision include where the company has capacity and how many of Sikorsky's Black Hawks are still being made. "If this place is chock-a-block full," Jackson said, speaking about Stratford, full production could be done at the building in northwestern Palm Beach County, Florida.
Sikorsky's Black Hawk and Sea Hawk helicopters, assembled in Stratford, have a backlog.
Full production of the new heavy-lift aircraft is expected to produce 24 helicopters a year, globalsecurity.org reports. The helicopter is scheduled to enter operation in 2018. The military expects to buy more than 200.
Some pieces of the new heavy-lift helicopters are being made in Stratford. A main rotor hub, a tail rotor hub, rotor sleeves and swash plates are all being machined in Connecticut.
Overall, 74 percent of the content of Sikorsky's helicopters is outsourced to contractors around the world. But Jackson said flight-critical components are made directly by the company.
As Sikorsky's operations have increased at the Florida location, rocket engine maker Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's presence has been declining there.
Pratt still has more than 1,000 employees at the site, spokesman Tom Callaghan said. Pratt's employment has declined in response to changes in the nation's space program, he said. Pratt also moved its military jet engine business to Connecticut in the early 2000s.
Both companies are subsidiaries of United Technologies Corp. in Hartford.
Goals of the new helicopter design are to increase operational capabilities, including lift, range, and high-altitude operations; improve crew and passenger survival; increase reliability; and significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs, Sikorsky said.
Sikorsky also has been developing a lightweight helicopter to fly 250 knots with low vibration and carry one pilot. Last October, Sikorsky demonstrated the X2 helicopter prototype on its Palm Beach County airstrip and announced it would spend more than $50 million to build a new-generation lightweight helicopter, which it is calling the Raider, in hopes of receiving a contract for that program.
© Copyright 2011, The Hartford Courant
