- Spirit will deliver the 13th all-composite cabin and cockpit
to Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky Helicopter division later this
year
WICHITA, Kan., April 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit AeroSystems
[NYSE: SPR] today announced it has successfully delivered the fifth
System Demonstration Test Article (SDTA) CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter fuselage for
the U.S. Marine Corps from Spirit's Wichita, Kan., facility. Major assembly on the
fuselage for SDTA six, the final SDTA helicopter, is underway.
Spirit is responsible for the assembly of the entire cockpit and
cabin and delivering the complete fuselage to Sikorsky, a Lockheed
Martin company.
![Spirit AeroSystems logo. (PRNewsFoto/Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.) Spirit AeroSystems logo. (PRNewsFoto/Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/333376/spirit_aerosystems__inc__logo.jpg)
"The Spirit team is proud to support the CH-53K King Stallion program and is pleased to deliver
the 5th SDTA fuselage unit to Sikorsky," said
Krisstie Kondrotis, Spirit
AeroSystems senior vice president of Defense programs. "This
lightweight composite fuselage structure will support the Marine
Corps requirement of much-needed additional heavy-lift capability.
We look forward to being a major contributor to this program and
delivering on our commitments for many years to come."
Spirit is responsible for the composite cockpit and cabin
structure with a separately attached tail section. The lightweight
structures support the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter's capability of
conducting unrefueled missions carrying 27,000 pounds over 110
nautical miles in high/hot conditions, which is triple the
load-carrying capacity of the current CH-53E Super Stallion.
Spirit is one of the world's leaders in designing and building
complex composite structures and has already delivered 12 units
including the ground test vehicles. The next unit is already in
major assembly at Spirit with low rate initial production starting
later this year.
"Now as we head into production of the final SDTA unit we can
focus on continuous deliveries to our customer and getting this
much-needed capability into the hands of the warfighters as quickly
as possible," said Jeff Jessop,
director of military programs for Spirit.
The U.S. Department of Defense's Program of Record remains at
200 CH-53K aircraft. The Marine Corps intends to stand up eight
active duty squadrons, one training squadron and one reserve
squadron to support operational requirements.
Spirit employs about 15,000 people worldwide designing and
building complex aerostructures for the world's most recognizable
airplanes. The company has a proven track record of developing
commercial best practices and adapting them for use on defense
programs. Spirit AeroSystems will join the CH-53K team at the
Berlin Air Show April 25-27 for the
King Stallion's international debut.
On the web: www.spiritaero.com
On Twitter: @SpiritAero
About Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems designs and builds aerostructures for both
commercial and defense customers. With headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, Spirit operates sites in the
U.S., U.K., France and
Malaysia. The company's core
products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components
for the world's premier aircraft. Spirit AeroSystems focuses on
affordable, innovative composite and aluminum manufacturing
solutions to support customers around the globe. More information
is available at www.spiritaero.com.
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SOURCE Spirit AeroSystems