News
Sikorsky wins bid to build six presidential helicopters
May 8, 2014 By The Washington Post
May 8, 2014, Washington, D.C. - The Navy on Wednesday awarded Sikorsky Aircraft an initial $1.24 billion contract to build six presidential helicopters that would begin to replace the current aging fleet, known for delivering heads of state on the South Lawn of the White House.
The contract is the Navy’s second attempt in recent years to
develop a new fleet of Marine One helicopters and will be closely
monitored by watchdogs Congress. In 2009, the Pentagon killed the
previous contract after costs doubled to $13 billion and cost taxpayers
$3.2 billion and did not produce an operable helicopter.
Defense
officials have vowed to get it right this time. They said the new
helicopters won’t be nearly as ambitious, or expensive, as the versions
of helicopters they tried to build last time.
But some are
worried that there appears to have been just one bidder this time,
Sikorsky, a division of United Technologies, which built the current
presidential helicopters. Sikorsky lost out on the previous contract to a
team of AgustaWestland and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed will work with
Sikorsky on the new contract.
By 2019, the Navy is expected to
begin ordering the rest of the 21-helicopter fleet, which is expected to
be ready by 2023, the company said.
