Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), and the U.S. Army have reached a Novel Production Agreement for BLACK HAWK® helicopters, enabling the Army to add aircraft as requirements emerge. This is especially critical for allied nations as foreign military sales cases mature. The initial agreement covers sixteen aircraft for the U.S. Army and is expected to increase by over one hundred aircraft in the coming years.
The contract award comes earlier than the end-of-year objective previously published. It reflects the Department of War and Lockheed Martin moving quickly to put in place an agile structure responsive to the dynamic acquisition environment. The agreement sustains production at Sikorsky and its 230‑supplier, forty-three‑state industrial base without interruption.
“This contract is not only fast but flexible. We have come to this structure to give the Army flexibility as their needs and budget change year-to-year, while maintaining a vehicle that can support FMS demand. This agreement turns a partner‑nation decision into aircraft on the ramp faster than conventional procurement allows,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager.
The Black Hawk is the workhorse of the U.S. Army, the National Guard, and militaries around the world. Soldiers fly it around the clock and around the globe on air‑assault, medical‑evacuation, disaster‑response, and border‑security missions. More than 5,000 Black Hawk helicopters have been delivered to more than thirty-six allied nations and have logged over fifteen million flight hours (including approximately five million combat hours).
Funds for these initial sixteen aircraft come from Congressional appropriations in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, as well as revenue from the Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Transaction (BEST) Program. As the Army divests older aircraft through its BEST program, it can reinvest the proceeds into buying new aircraft. This allows the Army to buy new Black Hawks, supporting the American industrial base, without using taxpayer resources.
“This contract ensures we maintain a ready, modern, and survivable rotary‑wing capability for the Army and our allies. The Black Hawk has long been a vital part of the Army and National Guard’s flexibility and will continue to be so for the next half century,” said Col. Ryan Nesrsta, Project Manager for the Utility Helicopters Project Office.
Expanding the Missions of the Black Hawk
Sikorsky is implementing new technologies that will strengthen the combat-proven Black Hawk helicopter and give U.S. Army Soldiers greater advantage. This includes expanding the Black Hawk’s payload capacity with a new engine which provides more horsepower and enhancing the airframe to allow the aircraft to carry additional payload and extend the Black Hawk’s range. Other upgrades add launched effects, autonomy and a digital backbone built on a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), making each upgrade faster and less costly than the last.
Upgrading an installed base of thousands of aircraft is the quickest path to field new capability and positions the Black Hawk to operate well into the 2070s.
The Black Hawk industrial base comprises 230 suppliers across forty-three states. Sikorsky spends more than $1.5 billion annually and supports approximately 55,000 U.S. jobs. Over the past 11 years, Lockheed Martin has invested more than $1 billion in Sikorsky manufacturing plants and research laboratories located in Connecticut, Alabama, Florida, and New York.
“The people who manufacture Black Hawk helicopters, including 230 suppliers, hold skills that take years to develop and are hard to rebuild,” said Ken Demaree, vice president, Army and Air Force Systems at Sikorsky. “This agreement means the Army and our allies have aircraft coming without a pause in production. The team keeps doing work they are very good at, with a focus on incorporating Black Hawk modernisation capabilities to evolve with the missions Soldiers fly every day.”
