Sikorsky Sets Sights On Indian Orders

 (Aviationweek) :  Sikorsky is hoping to ride a wave of recent export successes to also establish a firm industrial foothold in the hot Indian growth market.
India has two helicopter requirements on the horizon that Sikorsky is eyeing closely. One is a coast guard mission for which the U.S. manufacturer is bidding a tailored S-76. But the far larger program is a medium-helicopter requirement, which could lead to production of 300-500 rotorcraft. The company will likely tailor its offering around the C-148 Cyclone now completing development for Canada, says Jeff Pino, Sikorsky’s CEO, during a June 19 interview with Aviation Week.
The Canadian program has had its share of delays, but Pino suggests it is now holding to a new plan defined more than two years ago. Two of six interim-capability helicopters have been delivered to the Canadian customer, with deliveries of the full operational capability due to start next year. “This is the most capable and complex helicopter ever built,” Pino says of the militarized S-92.
Sikorsky has enjoyed a recent wave of export success, with Saudi Arabia looking to buy additional UH-60 Black Hawks, Sweden buying the utility rotorcraft to meet urgent operational needs in Afghanistan, and Australia selecting the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky MH-60R for its future maritime anti-submarine warfare rotorcraft. Turkey also has signed up to buying S-70i and may boost its order of S-70Bs by 12 rotorcraft to 30 total. “In the last six months this has been a nice order book increase, especially internationally,” Pino says.
Other opportunities are on the horizon, with Sikorsky eyeing a Mexican requirement for 50-100 rotorcraft in the UH-60 class.
Although much of the activity in recent months has been overseas, U.S. market movement is picking up steam, particularly with several U.S. Air Force programs. Those include the HH-60 combat search and rescue operational loss replacement program, which could grow from six units to as many as 24, and the Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP) and the eventual competition for a new combat search and rescue platform.
If the Pentagon opts for anything but a Black Hawk “it is going to be a conscious decision to add another type model,” Pino says. He shrugs off criticism that the Black Hawk, which is competing with other systems such as AgustaWestland’s AW139 is over-engineered for the CVLSP requirement, quipping that “we were over-engineered in Turkey as well.”

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