U.S. Marines newest helicopter completes sea trials
By
Dylan Malyasov
Aug 26, 2020
Source Lockheed Martin Corporation
A new CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter from Sikorsky has completed sea trials, according to a company news release.
“364 landings and takeoffs, day and night, from all nine deck spots. Two weeks of sea trials complete,†the release states.
Testing took place on the USS Wasp, a landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ship operated by the U.S. Navy, and was the first opportunity to operate the King Stallion in a modern naval environment. The June sea trials were the first in a series of three planned sea exercises to fully evaluate the aircraft’s performance and shipboard compatibility.
The aircraft completed 364 landings and takeoffs, day and night, from all nine deck spots and in various wind conditions to demonstrate its versatility and ability to operate from a ship on deployment. The CH-53K sea trials integrated test team consisted of nearly 100 people including Sikorsky, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the Marine Corps’ operational test squadron.
https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-marines-newest-helicopter-completes-sea-trials.html
