U.S. Army

The U.S. Army’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fleet has officially logged 5 million flight hours since the first AH-64A was delivered in 1984. According to Apache manufacturer Boeing, 1.3 million of those hours were flown during combat. The Army currently operates a fleet of more than 1,200 D- and E-model Apaches. “It is such a […]

Sikorsky has handed over its 5,000th “Hawk” medium-lift utility helicopter with the delivery of a UH-60M Black Hawk to the U.S. Army on Friday. The first production Black Hawk was accepted by the Army in 1978 and entered service the following year. Alongside the U.S. Army, which currently operates more than 2,100 Black Hawks, Sikorsky […]

Bell Textron has been awarded a contract to develop its V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. According to Bell, the initial contract will cover refining the weapon system design, sustainment, digital enterprise, manufacturing, systems integration, flight testing and airworthiness qualification. The Army launched FLRAA in 2019 to “replace […]

Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have completed their first demonstration for the U.S. Army of logistics and rescue missions using an uncrewed “optionally piloted” Black Hawk helicopter. The demonstration simulated missions including an 83-mile autonomous medical resupply carrying 400 units of real and simulated blood, delivery of a […]

The U.S. Army has ordered two more CH-47F Block II Chinook multi-mission heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing, the company announced on Monday. The order is in addition to a $136 million contract for four Block II Chinooks awarded to Boeing last year. Alongside the Lot 2 contract, which is valued at $63 million, is a separate […]

Safran Helicopter Engines has renewed a contract with Airbus Helicopters to support Arriel engines powering the U.S. Army’s UH-72 Lakota helicopter fleet. The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and service agreement covers over 900 Safran Arriel 1E2 and Arriel 2E engines in service on the Army’s UH-72A and UH-72B aircraft. According to the companies, the […]

The U.S. Army temporarily grounded its fleet of CH-47 Chinook helicopters on Tuesday citing a small number of engine fires caused by fuel leaks. The Army stated that the cause of the leaks has been identified and corrective measures are being implemented. A statement from Honeywell, the company that manufactures the Chinook’s T-55 engine, attributed […]

Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has signed a contract with the U.S. government to deliver 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. The deal, which includes UH-60M Black Hawk and HH-60M MEDEVAC aircraft, also has options for an additional 135 helicopters. Deliveries are expected to begin next month […]

Sikorsky and Boeing have selected Honeywell’s new HTS7500 turboshaft engine to power the Defiant X advanced military helicopter. According to Honeywell, the 7,500-SHP engine is 42 percent more powerful and yields an 18 percent reduction in specific fuel consumption compared to the T55-714A. The company says the HTS7500 also offers the lowest total weight compared […]

Honeywell announced this week that it has started testing on its next-generation T55-GA-714C engine for Chinook helicopters as part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army. According to Honeywell, the CRADA program and test campaign will take place over a two-year period to “validate the benefits and ease of integration […]