Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter will support US Marine Corps (USMC) missions as the United States pivot towards the Indo-Pacific theatre, where capabilities will be stretched.
Major Joshua Banks, US Naval Air Systems Command, who sits within PMA-261, which manages through life support of the King Stallion, examined details of the capability that the new helicopter offers users during the Helicopter Technology Central and Eastern Europe conference, hosted by SAE Media, on 22 May.
The helicopter has an overall length of 30.2 metres (m), fuselage width of 5.3m, and height of 8.6m. It is capable of lifting more than 14 tonnes at a mission radius of 203 kilometres in marine environments.
Banks mentioned that the platform can lift payloads weighing up to 36,000 pounds, that is, he said, three times the capacity of the E variant. Moreover, the design is simpler with 63% fewer parts needed compared to its predecessor.
At present, the USMC is undertaking a phased transition from the legacy E variant – the Super Stallion – to the K variant across its six heavy-lift squadrons, of which there will be at least 16 helicopters in each. However, there are 253 K units in the pipeline. The conversion began in 2019-20 and will continue well into the 2030s, Banks confirmed. Five squadrons have already made the transition.
Notably, there will be no mixed configuration of Es and Ks at any point of the conversion. Once a squadron is undergoing the transition, the unit will not be deploy in that time, Banks stressed.
The service will need the advanced heavy-lift capability; according to the US Indo-Pacific Command, the region covers one hundred million square miles, within which the USMC and the Navy will jostle with China over contested logistics, according to expert observers.
In confronting the problem of contested logistics, the USMC is already exploring options to use uncrewed systems to support manoeuvre, mobility, and sustainment of forward deployed forces.
Global users
There are a number of countries that operate the legacy Super Stallion, including Germany, Israel, and Japan, which leaves open the prospect of a global transition to the King Stallion.
But despite Banks’ glowing assessment of the advanced helicopter, only Israel has committed to buying 18 units in a $3.4bn Foreign Military Sales agreement made in July 2021.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has yet to commit to the transition, while the German Air Force has opted for a different helicopter entirely: Boeing's CH-47F Chinook Block II helicopters.
“This decision wasn’t solely based on performance data but also on other factors like international cooperation potential and operational flexibility and resilience,” a spokesperson for the German Air Force told Naval Technology.
Germany will be the 21st Chinook user nation, along with eight other Nato allies, including the United States.
“Furthermore, when focusing on pricing/budget and fleet performance, Germany will receive a larger number of CH-47 airframes, compared to the number of CH-53K helicopters. Both helicopters fulfill the German selection criteria, but a larger fleet size offers greater operational flexibility, strengthening rotary wing heavy lift support to the armed forces”.
