Lockheed Martin segment Sikorsky Aircraft is planning to establish a CH-53K King Stallion assembly line in South Korea to support the East Asian country’s military helicopter needs.
The announcement follows Seoul’s launch of a 3.7-trillion South Korean won ($2.6-billion) program to obtain new heavy-lift special operations aircraft from overseas through 2031, a report from Yonhap News Agency said.
Lockheed’s bid, the CH-53K, will compete with Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook for the award.
According to an October 2023 update from The Korea Economic Daily, Lockheed entered into a partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to explore potential areas that will support the development of “highly effective and innovative” special operations helicopters for the military in the next three decades.
“We have every intention of having all 18 aircraft assembled here in Korea,” Sikorsky International Strategy and Business Development Director Frank Crisafulli told reporters in Seoul.
“And from there, we look to evolve that relationship on the CH-53K, not just from simple assembly and final assembly, but to the next step of how we can work together to build parts for KAI here and also to export those to other countries.”
Sikorsky’s CH-53K
The King Stallion measures 99 feet (30 meters) long and can accommodate more than 20 personnel.
It has a payload capacity of up to 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms) to support the external hook load transport of vehicles similar to a Light Armored Vehicle or up to two Humvees.
The helicopter’s fuselage is wider compared to previous CH-53 iterations, enabling users to internally carry a single Humvee or up to two 10,000-pound (4,536-kilogram) air mobility cargo system pallets.
King Stallion is powered by three GE Aerospace T408 turboshaft engines with 7,332 horsepower each for a speed of 170 knots (196 miles/315 kilometers per hour), a range of 30 miles (48 kilometers), and altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,877 meters).