February 9, 2019
This Helicopter Is More Expensive Than the F-35 (And It Has Some Big Problems)
While the CH-53K program has racked up an eye-popping $31 billion price tag since the start of development in 2006, the persistence of technical flaws revealed in operational testing are concerning to say the least.
by Task and Purpose
If the aircraft ever gets off the ground, it may just be worth it: As Task & Purpose previously reported, the Sikorsky designed the CH-53K to haul up to 27,000 pounds, three times the cargo of the Pentagon's current heavy-lift workhorse, without any significant changes in the airframe dimensions, a major boon for Marines increasingly in the fight downrange and the capability that earned the airframe the "most powerful" moniker.
The Pentagon believes that the Marine Corps' new CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter — which at, $144 million apiece, costs more than the notoriously expensive F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter, is "the most powerful helicopter the United States has ever fielded."
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/helicopter-more-expensive-f-35-and-it-has-some-big-problems-44132
