On June 10 Sikorsky announced ta $542 million contract to build six VH-92A helicopters for the U.S. Presidential transport mission, following the program’s passing of Milestone C at the end of May. The Lockheed Martin-owned company will also supply spares and support equipment as part of the deal. The contracting agency for the program is Naval Air Systems Command through its PMA-274 program office.
The VH-92A is a standard S-92 adapted and modified for the Presidential role at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut plant and at Lockheed Martin’s Owego facility in New York. The focus is on reliability, survivability, and the installation of the communications necessary for the President to conduct his/her role as the commander-in-chief, head of state, and chief executive.
The U.S. Navy first awarded Sikorsky an initial $1.24 billion fixed-price incentive Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract on May 7, 2014. That contract included two test aircraft, the first of which—Engineering Development Model 1 (EDM-1)—made its first flight on July 28, 2017. It and EDM-2 have conducted more than 520 hours of flight testing to date.
The latest contract covers six Lot 1 low-rate initial production aircraft to be delivered between 2021 and April 2022. Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) is expected to be performed in mid-2020, with Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the EDM aircraft planned for later that year. Additional trials continue in the meantime. The program of record is for 21 production aircraft in addition to the two EDMs, with all to be in place by 2023.
In service, the VH-92As will replace the aging Sikorsky VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters of the Executive Flight Detachment of Marine squadron HMX-1, whose aircraft traditionally use the “Marine One” callsign when carrying the President. The squadron is based at MCAS Quantico, Virginia, but has a permanent detachment at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling within Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin installed the first VH-92A flight training device at Quantico earlier this year.
“The Presidential lift mission is a no-fail mission for the Marine Corps,” said Lieutenant General Steven Rudder, deputy commandant for Marine Corps aviation. “We deliver helicopter and MV-22 transportation across the globe to support the requirements of the Presidency. The authorization to move forward with procurement of the VH-92A will allow the Marine Corps to deliver the next generation of Presidential Helicopter support.”
The VH-92As will be used to transport the President, Vice President, and other government officials. They will be supported by HMX-1’s fleet of MV-22B Ospreys, which are used to transport security and White House staff, media contingents, and other personnel associated with Presidential duties.
VXX, or the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, has been a long-running saga, first initiated with an RFP issued in December 2003. In January 2005 the AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) US101 was selected in preference to the VH-92. Nine were built as VH-71 Kestrels before the contract was terminated by the Obama administration on cost grounds. The aircraft were subsequently sold to Canada, where they remain in storage. Most of them are due to be upgraded to the CH-149 Cormorant MLU standard for service with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the search-and-rescue role.
In the meantime, a new RFI relaunched the VXX program in March 2010. By mid-2013 AgustaWestland (AW101), Bell (V-22 Osprey), and Boeing (CH-47 derivative) had withdrawn from the contest, leaving Sikorsky as the sole bidder.