Sikorsky will build another six heavy-lift helicopters in Stratford as part of a recent $550 million Navy contract and a 2018 economic development deal with Connecticut.
The CH-53K King Stallion helicopters are used by the Marines as expeditionary heavy-lift assault transport of armored vehicles, equipment and personnel sea-based centers of operations. The six helicopters are part of a program of 200 for the Marine Corps and brings to 24 the number of CH-53K production aircraft under contract to be built in Connecticut.
Sikorsky will begin delivery of the six aircraft in January 2024.
The helicopter is nearing the end of the developmental flight test events in preparation for tests and evaluation and has flown more than 2,000 flight hours.
Then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his economic development team negotiated in 2016 a $220 million state aid package with Lockheed Martin Corp., Sikorsky’s parent company.
The General Assembly gave bipartisan backing to the package, which included a promise to increase its full-time employment in Connecticut and for Lockheed Martin to nearly double its spending of $350 million a year with Connecticut suppliers.
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