The Defense Ministry has signed a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, to customize 12 CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters with unique systems tailored for the Israeli Air Force (IAF), the ministry announced in a press release on Monday.
The agreement was finalized by the Defense Ministry's mission to the US in New York.
The helicopters will be built at Sikorsky’s headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut, under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract signed between the Defense Ministry and the US government several years ago.
The CH-53K aircraft are set to replace the older Yas’ur helicopters, which have served as the IAF’s primary transport platform for troops and equipment.
As part of the new agreement, Sikorsky will establish a dedicated production line to adapt each helicopter from the standard US Marine Corps version to meet the IAF’s operational requirements, the press release added.
The customization will include advanced avionics, navigation systems, and electronic warfare suites supplied by the Defense Ministry.
Agreement signed with US government
In 2021, the Defense Ministry signed an agreement with the US government to acquire 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft.
In February 2022, Lockheed-Martin said that the first four of 12 aircraft had begun production, with the first expected to arrive in Israel in 2026.
Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo said, “We are building on decades of experience and partnership in supporting the CH-53E for the Marine Corps and the CH53D for the IAF,” The Jerusalem Post previously quoted.
He added that the company “has a deep understanding of the worldwide heavy-lift mission-enabling” and that it has a “proven supply chain to offer tailored solutions resulting in more efficient missions.”
