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Sikorsky Aircraft’s newest heavy
lift helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps, the CH-53K, has been officially
unveiled at the 6. May 2014 and named the King Stallion. The CH-53K is expected to enter
operational service in 2019.
"The rollout of the CH-53K
helicopter introduces a new era in Marine Corps aviation and is an exciting
milestone in our company's 91-year history," Sikorsky President Mick Maurer
said at a roll-out ceremony. "The CH-53K aircraft will effectively triple
the external load carrying capacity of the CH-53E aircraft -- to more than
27,000 pounds over a mission radius of 110 nautical miles."
“With its 88,000-pound maximum
gross weight, powerful new engines, lightweight composite structure, new
rotor blades and fly-by-wire flight controls, the CH-53K will have the means
to move troops and equipment from ship to shore, and to higher altitude
terrain, more quickly and effectively than ever before."
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The King Stallion features three
GE Aviation T408 engines, which provide 57 percent more power with about 20
percent lower specific fuel consumption than engines on earlier CH-53
variants. The aircraft’s main rotor blade is made of composite materials and
is 35 feet long with 12 percent more surface area than the CH-53E blade.
Sikorsky said the CH-53K is one of the first all-digitally designed
helicopters, assembled inside a 3D virtual reality lab before prototype
production began. "Our 'build-before-you-build' approach allowed our
engineers to work 'inside' the helicopter," said Maurer, "to verify assembly
designs and correct issues long before discovery and expensive rework on the
assembly line."
Powered ground tests of aircraft
systems began last month. First flight is scheduled for later this year, and
will be followed by three years of flight tests.
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