Sikorsky bags $1.28 billion Air Force combat rescue helicopter contract Defence and Security

The initial engineering and manufacturing development phase of the new combat rescue helicopter contract worth $1.28 million has been awarded by Air Force to Sikorsky Aircraft Company on June 26.

The procurement of the first four of the program’s planned 112 aircraft are also included in the contract.

According to Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force - The Air Force has considered upgrading the platform that executes this sacred mission for all Department of Defense personnel who go into harm’s way, during the span of past decade. The Air Force is pledged to provide military ethos to this mission.

The Air Force is the fundamental service tasked to train, organize, equip and facilitate forces to handle global personnel recovery operations with the particular capability to handle theater-wide combat rescue and search.

The contract came in $700 million below the government’s affordability target gate, the government has executed a detailed analysis of the recommended price and concluded this contract award is a very good buy for the taxpayer, says, Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force.

More than 12,200 U.S., allied and host nation forces has been saved by the combat search and rescue mission in conflicts worldwide, and combat rescue helicopters have played an important and required role in global missions, rescuing more than 5,000 people since Sept. 11, 2001.

The contract assures that mission for many future years as being committed to insure our Airmen are armed to rescue America’s soldiers whenever and wherever required. The importance of the combat rescue mission is to be strengthened, says, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.