Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, today announced a new contract with the U.S. Army that will fund Black Hawk modernization engineering initiatives. The initial $43 million award will focus on core modernization capabilities: airframe enhancements and the inclusion of a digital backbone network to enable rapid integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The award also includes requirements and architecture development using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
“Sikorsky is ready to deploy new technologies that will strengthen the combat-proven Black Hawk helicopter and give U.S. Army soldiers a greater advantage in areas like the Indo-Pacific,” said Hamid Salim, vice president of Army and Air Force Systems at Sikorsky. The integration of launch effects into the Black Hawk will enhance its capabilities and give it a significant advantage. The modernization reduces costs, increases efficiency, and improves the aircraft’s overall maintenance and sustainability. ”.
The contract will support the Army’s near-term priority of integrating launch effects into the Black Hawk, enabling the aircraft to deploy UAS and other effects to enhance its mission capabilities. Lockheed Martin has been demonstrating launch effects capability with the Black Hawk for years and is collaborating with the Army to implement a federated capability by 2026.
The MBSE and Digital Engineering project will focus on developing a Black Hawk digital backbone for efficient, collaborative design, testing, and maintenance. The Black Hawk digital backbone, which supports a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA), will involve the development of advanced systems and software to support aircraft modernization. This digital backbone facilitates the rapid addition of capabilities to quickly respond to the platform’s future mission needs.
This initial work on airframe, main fuel, and digital backbone improvements laid the groundwork for future rapid upgrades to the Black Hawk’s capability. With a more powerful engine, airframe improvements, and a main fuel upgrade, the aircraft will carry more payload over a longer range, and future flight control enhancements will include autonomy and AI features that will assist pilots in challenging conditions, increasing mission safety and effectiveness.
“Together with our team of hundreds of U.S. suppliers, we are committed to delivering the most advanced and capable modernized Black Hawk to the U.S. Army,” Salim said. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Army to ensure the Black Hawk remains a vital component of our nation’s defense capabilities for years to come.”
Sikorsky is already developing technology that will enhance the capabilities of the modernized Black Hawk. For example, Sikorsky produces and supplies Inverted Exhaust System II kits. These kits provide the current Black Hawk and modernized Black Hawk with significant performance improvements, such as infrared suppression, weight reduction, reliability, and ease of maintenance.
