Press release
01/05/2009
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI) today celebrated the delivery of the first tailcone produced by TAI for the S-70i™ BLACK HAWK helicopter to be built in Poland. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).
The tailcone (serial # 001) was shipped recently from TAI's facility in Ankara, Turkey, to Sikorsky's affiliate, PZL Mielec, in Poland, where it was joined to the cabin of an S-70i BLACK HAWK helicopter earlier this month. Production of the S-70i helicopter at PZL Mielec was planned since the acquisition of the company in 2007. Delivery of the first S-70i BLACK HAWK helicopter is expected to occur by the end of 2010, representing a potential increase in BLACK HAWK production for TAI.
As many as 36 S-70i BLACK HAWK helicopters are expected to be produced per year from that facility.
"TAI's recent delivery of the first tailcone to Sikorsky's Polish affiliate PZL Mielec brings us one step closer to the delivery of the first S-70i BLACK HAWK helicopter, and its introduction to the international community," said Stephen B. Estill, Sikorsky Vice President, Strategic Partnerships. "The BLACK HAWK helicopter is the workhorse of U.S. Army aviation, used in a multi-mission role in challenging combat environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and with this first tailcone delivery, we will write a new history for this aircraft."
Sikorsky and Turkish Aerospace Industries have had a long relationship in the manufacture of BLACK HAWK helicopter components. Since 2000, TAI has produced more than 1,600 empennage components for Sikorsky's global fleet of BLACK HAWK helicopter derivatives.