Procurement: USMC Builds Their Backup System

Archives

June 19, 2013: The U.S. Marine Corps have ordered the first four production model CH-53K helicopters. Each of these will cost $109 million. Later production models will be cheaper. The first four will begin arriving in 2016, and a year later the testing will begin. Meanwhile, the prototype CH-53K will fly for the first time next year. The first CH-53Ks will not enter service until 2018. The marines want to buy 200 CH-53Ks, for about $115 million each (including over a decade of development, and this about what it costs for the MV-22). Development took so long because the marines did not have enough cash to keep building the new V-22 while also keeping CH-53K development on schedule. Technical problems were blamed for the CH-53K delays but it was later revealed that the marines didn't want to take money away from their MV-22 program to keep the CH-53K program on schedule. It’s all about limited resources and aging equipment.

A year ago the marines finally retired the last of its CH-53D transport helicopters. Introduced in the late 1960s, 124 were built before production stopped in 1972. The CH-53D was to be replaced by 348 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. But delays in that program, and a reduction in the number of V-22s to be built, led to the CH-53K. While the CH-53K is a better cargo hauler, the MV-22 moves twice as fast and the marines have found that to be a major advantage in combat. But the MV-22 is more expensive to operate and the marines cannot afford to buy and operate all the MV-22s they need to replace older helicopters.

Six years ago the marines began working on an updated version of the CH-53E (which entered service in the early 1980s), the CH-53K. This version is sixteen percent heavier (at 42.3 tons) than the CH-53E and able to carry nearly twice as much (13.5 tons). The CH-53K will be much easier to maintain and cost about half as much per flight hour to operate.

 

 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close