U.S. Marine pilots with Marine Helicopter Squadron One practice landing and take-off of Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2017. (Micha R. Pierce/U.S. Marine Corps)
(Tribune News Service) — Helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has been awarded an approximately $107 million contract for more work on the newest Marine One aircraft.
The new order “provides for the design, integration and testing of the Power Margin Increment Two main rotor blades” for the VH-92A helicopter, according to a summary posted last week on the Defense Department’s website.
Sikorsky’s headquarters in Stratford, Conn., will host 72% of the work, which is expected to be completed in March 2031.
“This effort supports the development, integration and qualification of an improved main rotor blade design to increase aircraft power margin and enhance operational performance,” the summary stated.
A message left Tuesday for Sikorsky was not immediately returned.
Missions assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One use three Sikorsky models: the VH-3D, the VH-60N and the VH-92A, with delivery of the latter group completed in 2024.
The VH-92A conducted the first “presidential lift” in Chicago in August 2024 and “continues to support administrative lifts of the president outside the National Capital Region,” according to a statement provided last month by the Marine Corps.
Last month, President Donald Trump announced a plan to build a new helipad on the White House lawn. He said that the newer helicopters are too powerful to land there without damaging the grass.
Trump also said that Sikorsky was building the helipad and paying the “full cost,” which he estimated to be up to $6 million.
Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Md.,-based parent company of Sikorsky, has confirmed its support of the helipad, but not commented specifically on the amount of funding that it would provide.
Trump’s plan for the new helipad has faced criticism from five of the seven members of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation, Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, as well as Reps. Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and John Larson. They argue that the Republican Trump has not provided enough information about the project.
Sikorsky has secured a number of other contracts in the past year. Last week, it earned two Army contracts totaling about $107 million for more work on Black Hawk helicopters. In June, it was awarded a $525 million Navy contract to support the production of CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters. Last September, it landed a nearly $11 billion contract to build up to 99 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters for the Marine Corps over a five-year period.
Sikorsky is one of the largest private-sector employers in Connecticut. Its employees account for the vast majority of Lockheed Martin’s more than 7,000 people based in the state.
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