Two production Sikorsky CH-53Ks have been contracted, Lockheed Martin said. The Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) has awarded Sikorsky a Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1 contract, following the April Milestone C decision that approved it.

"We have just successfully launched the production of the most powerful helicopter our nation has ever designed,” said Col Hank Vanderborght, U.S. Marine Corps program manager for Navair’s Heavy Lift Helicopters program. “This incredible capability will revolutionize the way our nation conducts business in the battlespace by ensuring a substantial increase in logistical through put into that battlespace.”

This production contract is worth nearly $304 million, with a delivery date of 2020. Along with the two aircraft, the Marine Corps would also receive spares and logistical support. Assembly of the King Stallions is to take place in Stratford, Connecticut.

At the beginning of July, the King Stallion took its first extended flight, traveling from Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach, Florida, facility to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. At that time, testing was to continue at both facilities.