CH-53K

Abstract

The CH-53 is the only marinized heavy-lift helicopter in the world and is the Marine Corp's only heavy-lift helicopter. The CH-53 mission is the conduct of expeditionary heavy-lift assault transport of armored vehicles, equipment and personnel to support distributed operations deep inland from a sea-based center of operations. The CH-53E "Super Stallion" was introduced into operations in 1980 as an upgrade version of the CH-53D. The CH-53E has developed performance degradation, fatigue life, interoperability, maintenance supportability, and other operational concerns. An improved CH-53 is needed to support Marine Air-Ground Task Force heavy-lift requirements in the 21st century joint environment. The CH-53K "King Stallion" will provide improvements in range and payload, performance, cargo handling, turn-around times, reliability and maintainability, interoperability, and survivability. The CH-53K program is required to provide full system capability, including shipboard compatibilities, at Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Total aircraft quantities for the CH-53K program are 205 helicopters. This includes one Ground Test Vehicle (GTV) and four Engineering Development Models (EDMs) for System Development and Demonstration (SDD), to be purchased with Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) funds. Of the remaining 200 aircraft, six will be System Demonstration Test Articles (SDTA's) and will be incrementally funded using RDT&E funds. The SDTA's will be used to prove out production and integration processes on a pilot production line, and to provide aircraft for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. The remaining 194 aircraft will be Aircraft Procurement, Navy funded. FY16 RDT&E funds CH-53K SDD activities which include: Milestone C preparation, ground and flight test of GTV and EDMs, associated subsystems and components, and the continued fabrication and assembly of SDTAs. Additionally, the program takes delivery of the first SDTA aircraft. JUSTIFICATION FOR BUDGET ACTIVITY: This program is funded under SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION because it includes those projects that have passed Milestone B approval and are conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full-rate production decision.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2016
• Source ID: 0605212N_5_1319_PB_2016
• Change Summary Explanation: The FY 2016 funding request was reduced by $16.462 million to account for the availability of prior year execution balances. Technical: Not applicable. Schedule: EDM #1 delivered to test earlier than planned - 1QFY15. FRR (1st Flight) moved to 2QFY15 to occur within 30 days of scheduled 1st Flight. OT-B1 moved to 3QFY16 to allow 13 months of flight test prior to start of Operational Testing. MSC moved 1Q right due to test program delays. ILA and PRR shifted to depict more realistic alignment with MSC. Conclusion of IOT&E extended to 2QFY19 to complete Operational Test program. Delivery dates for SDTA's 2-4 have each shifted 1 Quarter per most recent contractor delivery schedule (sub-vendor material delays). Delivery dates for SDTA's 5-6 have each shifted 2 Quarters right as Conference approval delayed RFP release. Delivery dates for LRIP Lot 1 (qty: 2) and first aircraft of LRIP Lot 2 have each shifted 1Q right to correct manufacturer lead time.
• Service Agency Name: Navy

Entities

Organizations

• United States Navy

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Acquisition
• Aircrafts
• Cargo Handling
• Contractors
• Contracts
• Developmental Tests
• Engineering
• Fabrication
• Helicopters
• Logistics
• Manufacturing
• Procurement
• Production
• Systems Engineering
• Test And Evaluation
• Test Vehicles
• Vehicles

Readers

• Aerospace Engineering