Air Force approves Combat Rescue Helicopter program for production

By Sara Sirota / September 25, 2019 at 9:47 AM

(Editor's Note: This Insider blog entry includes an updated quote from Sikorsky regarding the the number of Combat Rescue Helicopter test flight hours the company and Air Force have executed.)

The Air Force Tuesday declared milestone C for the Combat Rescue Helicopter, allowing the program to enter low-rate initial production, according to CRH provider Sikorsky.

"The joint Sikorsky and [Air Force] flight test team has executed over 150 hours of envelope expansion flights, which provided [the Air Force] the data necessary to execute a Milestone C decision," the company wrote in a statement.

The modified Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters will execute personnel recovery and search and rescue missions. The Air Force is expected to procure 113 CRHs that will replace the legacy HH-60G Pave Hawks.

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