Features Military Operations
Boeing, Sikorsky joining forces to develop military helicopter

The strategic teaming agreement, signed January 13 and
announced on Friday, reunites two of the biggest U.S. helicopter
manufacturers, who often compete for orders but joined forces to build
the Comanche, a U.S. Army helicopter program that was canceled in 2004.

Sikorsky, maker of the Black Hawk utility helicopter,
and Boeing, which builds Apache attack helicopters, plan to submit a
joint proposal in response to an Army technology demonstration project
unveiled earlier this month to attract design plans for the new
aircraft.

The Army program will lay the groundwork for the
Pentagon's Future Vertical Lift program — a massive project that will
ultimately replace more than 4,000 medium-lift helicopters used by
various U.S. military services.

Boeing and Sikorsky will compete with other industry
teams to build and fly one or more demonstrator aircraft in 2017, which
would then be evaluated for the bigger program.

"This is the beginning of a long-term strategic
partnership that will make Boeing and Sikorsky the biggest actors in the
global military helicopter business," said Loren Thompson, a
Virginia-based defense consultant and chief operating officer of the
Lexington Institute think tank.

Officials from Sikorsky and Boeing said joining forces
on the competition would help the companies deliver an innovative,
affordable helicopter.

"Our teaming agreement is the continuation of a
long-standing relationship between Boeing and Sikorsky and reflects a
common vision for the future of Army aviation," Chris Chadwick,
president of Boeing Military Aircraft, said in a statement.

By pooling their resources, the companies will be able
to offer the military "a revolutionary capability for the warfighter at
an affordable cost for the U.S. taxpayer," said Mick Maurer, president
of Sikorsky.

The Army launched the technology demonstration project
earlier this month, saying it would support the Pentagon's program to
develop the next generation of vertical-lift aircraft with greater
performance, reliability and affordability.

Thompson said the Boeing-Sikorsky agreement could spur
other companies in the sector like Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron
Inc and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica SpA, to consider
their own teaming agreements.

"If the two biggest helicopter makers get together,
they become nearly unbeatable in the marketplace and their competitors
are at a real disadvantage," said Thompson.

Sikorsky is teamed with Lockheed on the MH-60
helicopters it builds for the U.S. Navy. The two companies are also
working together on a bid to build a new search and rescue helicopter
for the Air Force.