{"id":51666,"date":"2018-02-06T15:46:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T15:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/06\/sikorsky-teams-with-rheinmetall-for-german-helicopter-race\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:49:37","slug":"sikorsky-teams-with-rheinmetall-for-german-helicopter-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2018\/02\/06\/sikorsky-teams-with-rheinmetall-for-german-helicopter-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Sikorsky teams with Rheinmetall for German helicopter race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2015 Sikorsky<\/a> has teamed up with Rheinmetall Defence<\/a> in an upcoming competition to replace Germany\u2019s fleet of heavy-lift transport helicopters, the companies announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sikorsky, which is part of Lockheed Martin<\/a>, is offering the CH-53K King Stallion to replace the German military\u2019s aging fleet of CH-53G helicopters. The old helicopters are due to be retired in the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berlin wants to buy between 45 and 60 new aircraft in a deal expected to cost billions of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An industry day is set for Feb. 28 in Koblenz, where the government will release details of its acquisition plan. A formal solicitation to industry is expected later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides Sikorsky\u2019s offering, Boeing\u2019s C-47 Chinook is a contender for the program, known in Germany as \u201cSchwerer Transporthubschrauber.\u201d The aerospace giant released a whitepaper last fall illustrating its German roots going back to Wilhelm B\u00f6ing, the immigrant father of the company\u2019s founder, William E. Boeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two U.S. companies have an interest in giving their offerings a German face, following local industry concerns last year that the government would buy existing vehicles from across the Atlantic without considering domestic participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\t