STRATFORD, Conn -- Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, announced that final assembly of the first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter Weapons System and Operational Flight Trainers is underway, supporting the smooth entry of the aircraft into the U.S. Air Force fleet in 2020.

Completion of the HH-60W training systems at subcontractor FlightSafety International's facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is expected in the first quarter of 2019. The Weapons System Trainer will be based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, home of the formal HH-60W training unit. The Operational Flight Trainer will be at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, site of the first operational unit.

The HH-60W flight trainers will conform to the highest Federal Aviation Administration standards and include the capability to link with other simulators on the Combat Air Forces Distributed Mission Operations (CAF DMO) network. The flight simulators will train the full aircrew, allowing pilots and special mission aviators to train together in the same device while experiencing more complex and realistic training scenarios.

Sikorsky's current contract with the U.S. Air Force for the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase of the program includes delivery of nine HH-60W helicopters as well as six aircrew and maintenance training devices, and instructional courseware designed specifically for the HH-60W aircraft. The Program of Record calls for 112 helicopters to replace the Air Force's aging H-60G Pave Hawk fleet, which performs critical combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all U.S. military services.

Source: Lockheed Martin
Associated URL: https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-09-18-Sikorsky-HH-60W-Combat-Rescue-Helicopter-Weapons-System-Operational-Flight-Trainers-in-Final-Assembly