H-92 Superhawk

Sikorsky Unveils H-92 SUPERHAWK
Targets Military Missions Around the Globe

Jun. 17, 2003

– LE BOURGET, Paris — Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today unveiled its newest military helicopter, the H-92 SUPERHAWK, and said it would be a formidable competitor in current and future government helicopter procurements worldwide.

Based on the FAA-certified and Collier Trophy-winning Sikorsky S-92, the H-92 SUPERHAWK will provide military customers with an impressive array of systems and features, housed in an airframe that has already passed the world’s most stringent safety certification standards.

“The H-92 SUPERHAWK is a worthy addition to the Sikorsky product lineup,” said Jeff Pino, Sikorsky’s senior vice president for business development. “Like the mighty BLACK HAWK helicopter from which we derived the new aircraft’s name, the H-92 SUPERHAWK will feature the kind of safety, survivability, and mission performance that customers around the world associate with Sikorsky.”

Drawing on the aircraft development program that created the Sikorsky S-92, the base model H-92 SUPERHAWK will feature ballistic tolerance improvements, including self-sealing fuel tanks and additional armor protection for sensitive areas of the aircraft. All H-92 SUPERHAWKs will also carry self-defense systems such as IR suppression and chaff/flare systems to protect against missile attack. The aircraft will also include a military-grade wiring bus as part of an overall upgraded military avionics capability that can be configured to meet each customer’s requirements.

“We see the H-92 SUPERHAWK as an outstanding platform for military uses,” Pino said. “Each customer we work with has a different mission profile, and the H-92 SUPERHAWK provides tremendous flexibility to support a wide variety of unique system requirements in the years ahead.”

Powering the new H-92 SUPERHAWK will be two new GE CT7-8C engines, uprated as much as 25% from the CT7-8A engines found on the civil S-92 helicopter. Sikorsky and GE Aircraft Engines signed their agreement to the new engine program today at the Paris Air Show.

The H-92 SUPERHAWK is already competing to win the 28-aircraft Maritime Helicopter Project in Canada, and is Sikorsky’s candidate for the impending replacement program for the U.S. Presidential transport mission, Marine One. A combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the H-92 SUPERHAWK was identified by the U.S. Air Force as the preferred alternative for that service’s upcoming program to replace more than 100 aging PAVE HAWK aircraft.

The civil S-92 aircraft on which the H-92 SUPERHAWK is based has already achieved FAA certification to the world’s most stringent safety standards. Standard S-92 safety features that will be found in the H-92 SUPERHAWK include flaw tolerant components; multiple, redundant control systems; bird strike protection; high-intensity radiated field protection; and Category A (Class 1) performance, which allows pilots to continue safe flight in the event of an engine failure at any point in flight.

The H-92 SUPERHAWK is also expected to feature greater reliability and lower maintenance costs than competing aircraft, an important consideration for military customers. Minimal scheduled maintenance and easy access to critical aircraft maintenance nodes will make the H-92 SUPERHAWK one of the easiest and most efficient helicopters to keep in the air.

The H-92 SUPERHAWK also deploys easily and rapidly, especially for an aircraft its size. It loads onto a C-5 or C-17 transport aircraft in under three hours, with minimal ground support equipment required.