Jan. 21, 2021 —
A Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew conducts a search and rescue demonstration.
The Coast Guard awarded a contract today to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation of Stratford, Connecticut, for new H-60 helicopter hulls as part of a program to extend the service life of the service’s current fleet of MH-60T helicopters for an additional 20,000 flight hours. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract extends through April 2025 and has a potential value of $850 million.
As part of the contract award, the Coast Guard placed an initial order for 25 new hulls. The initial order, with a total value of nearly $207 million, includes non-recurring engineering costs, which enables Sikorsky to produce the hulls in the Coast Guard MH-60T configuration. The first three hulls will be used for validation of Sikorsky’s production processes and Coast Guard hull assembly procedures before moving to full rate production of the next 22 hulls. Delivery of the first new hull is anticipated in early 2023, with subsequent hulls scheduled for delivery at approximately one per month starting in late 2023.
The Coast Guard’s H-60 helicopters have been in service since 1990, and the first helicopters in the fleet are set to reach their original service life limit beginning in 2023. These new hulls, combined with existing programmed service life extension activities, will enable the Coast Guard to align operations with the timeline for future fleet recapitalization in conjunction with the Department of Defense’s joint Future Vertical Lift program.
Hull replacement is just one component of the MH-60T sustainment effort. In addition, critical dynamic components, such as main rotor blades, and electrical wire harnesses will also be replaced. Aircraft production – the assembly and installation of dynamic components on the hulls – will be completed at the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
For more information: MH-60T Sustainment program page