Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit and the U.S. Army finalized a Novel Production Agreement for continued Black Hawk helicopter manufacturing. The agreement is designed to give the Army more flexibility to order aircraft as its budget and operational needs change, and to fulfill sales to allied nations more quickly.
The deal aims to prevent production-line pauses and sustain Sikorsky’s manufacturing base. That base includes 230 suppliers. They are spread across 43 states.
The initial order covers 16 helicopters. The flexible agreement could accommodate more than 100 additional aircraft in the coming years as foreign military sales demand materializes.