Aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky plans to fly its new combat helicopters for the first time in the first half of 2019, the company announced this week.
The company, a subsidiary of defense giant Lockheed Martin, assembled the two HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters at its facility in Connecticut and shipped them to Florida — where they will make their maiden flights — late last year.
Sikorsky employees are currently installing final instruments and conducting ground run tests at the company’s site in West Palm Beach.
The helicopters include the company’s Tactical Mission Kit — an advanced intelligence system comprised of sensors, radar and defense technologies — as well as a larger fuel system to accommodate rescue missions over longer distances.
Officials said the tests represented a first step toward an initial production decision, "which will allow Sikorsky to provide a constant production flow of aircraft to the warfighter,” Greg Hames, the director of the program for Sikorsky, said in a statement.
The company plans to build nine aircraft during its initial phase; the program, in total, would replace the Air Force’s HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters with 112 new aircraft.