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By Lorenzo Cortes
QUANTICO, Va.-- Sikorsky's (UTX) advances in the design and manufacture of its S-92 helicopter program can be applied to the company's H-60 Black Hawk family of helicopters, according to a Sikorsky official.
"The aircraft is the next generation of helicopters," Nick Lappos, Sikorsky's program manager for the S-92, said during a briefing here on Wednesday.
"One of the prime markets we see for the '92 would be to use the '92's dynamic systems, the transmissions and rotors, back onto some percentage of the Black Hawk fleet. The U.S. Army is looking at a future utility rotorcraft and one of the possibilities would be that future utility rotorcraft could be an upgraded Black Hawk using S- 92 components."
The company is optimistic about the viability of the S-92 platform for the Marine Corps executive transport role. Sikorsky, which has invested around $700 million into the S-92 program, is marketing S-92 for both the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) and executive transport roles. The S-92 fits what Lappos characterizes as larger cabin volume helicopter market, a classification just above that of the Black Hawk family. Sikorsky can customize the internal storage of the S-92 for different missions.
For tactical troop transport, Sikorsky the S-92 could carry 22 troop seats in addition to the two crewmembers. For...