Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Connecticut, was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity $650,000,000 maximum ceiling with a $12,000 minimum guarantee contract for the development of long-term capability upgrades for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter. The initial delivery order has also been awarded with a total face value of $91,240,127. This contract provides for the development and integration of the Global Positioning System Anti-Jam, Mobile User Objective System, and Degraded Visual Environment systems on the HH-60W Air Vehicle and its training systems. Work will be performed at Stratford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 20, 2030.
Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,344,179 are being obligated at time of award. The U,S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
The HH-60W Jolly Green II is a result of the development of the HH-60G “Pave Hawk” and built upon the existing and proven framework of the UH-60M “Black Hawk” production model. The HH-60W received its name as the “Jolly Green II” during a ceremony in February 2020, honoring the Jolly Green crews of previous generations who established the excellence and capability expected of the USAF combat rescue crews today. The first units to receive and field the new aircraft were the 41st Rescue Squadron, Moody AFB, Georgia, and the 512th Rescue Squadron, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. Moody AFB was the first across the USAF to deploy the new HH-60W Jolly Green II for its first rescue mission by the 38th and 41st Rescue Squadrons, Sept. 7, 2022. The HH-60W Jolly Green II replaces the HH-60G Pave Hawk as a dedicated Combat Rescue Helicopter. The HH-60/MH-60 is a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family.
The Jolly Green II is designed from the ground up with integrated mission systems that improve situational awareness for aircrews conducting the CSAR mission in contested environments. Also, to conduct humanitarian missions, civil search and rescue, disaster relief, medical evacuation, and non-combatant evacuations. The helicopters feature new multi-function displays to provide pilots with critical flight information. Modifications to the HH-60W include a digital radar warning receiver; laser, missile, hostile fire warning; integrated chaff and flares; cabin and cockpit armor; externally mounted 7.62 mm and .50 caliber weapons; LINK 16 military tactical data link network; Situational Awareness Data Link; integrated cockpit and cabin displays; advanced communications; Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast; tactical moving map displays; upturned IR-masking exhausts; and efficient wide-chord rotor blades.
The U.S. Air Force declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the HH-60W Jolly Green II Combat Rescue Helicopter, validating the platform’s operational readiness to forward deploy Air Force rescue crews around the globe. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT) designed and manufactures the HH-60W, which enables the U.S. Air Force to conduct rescue missions at greater ranges and in the most challenging environments, and with increased survivability. In addition to the IOC declaration, on September 7, the Air Force conducted its first successful mission utilizing the HH-60W to transport a man from Valdosta State University in Georgia to a hospital in Tampa, Florida. Additionally, the Air Force recently announced the aircraft has been deployed for the first time to provide rescue services in support of contingency operations.
