Lockheed to buy United Tech's Sikorsky for over $8 billion

Skyblazer said:
Indeed. Now let's just hope and pray that the name Sikorsky doesn't fade from memory and will remain active under the new ownership.
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I'm afraid it won't. Let's hope for Lockheed-Sikorsky. -SP
 
I guess the regulators had no problem with the Future vertical lift program being Lockheed/Boeing vs Bell/Lockheed? That has to make for awkward meetings....
 
sublight is back said:
I guess the regulators had no problem with the Future vertical lift program being Lockheed/Boeing vs Bell/Lockheed? That has to make for awkward meetings....
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The avionics and airframe competitions are happening concurrently but technically are separate. So while the demonstrator aircraft will be LM-Boeing and Bell-LM, could easily end up with a situation where Bell is chosen to be lead on the airframe and Boeing is chosen as lead for the blinky bits. Or LM could win everything.
 
The LM investors are giggling all the way to the bank. If the Lockheed-Martin Rotorcraft Division-Boeing team wins then the LMRD will make the airframe. If the Bell-Lockheed team wins then they get to do the avionics and software and sensor integration. Interestingly there may actually be more money in it for Lockheed if the Bell team wins, since software, sensor fit is as expensive these days as the airframe. Given how hard the OEM are working to reduce cost on the production of the airframe itself (Listen to John Garrison in the Bell V-280 video) I honestly would be surprised if the kit is not more expensive. Also if the Bell team wins then one of the prime competitors to LM, Boeing, is potentially locked out of a huge part of the DoD rotorcraft fleet for the better part of a century (assumng we dont go back to new VTOL air vehicles every ten years). Given that Boeing rotorcraft is a small part of the liquidity of the overall Boeing Company, with only two military rotorcraft programs and no commercial segment to really consider, they are the ones with the most to loose in this endevor.
 
My bet is on the Sikorsky platform. I never bought the excuse that the Army decided to go Comanche instead of Osprey, there must be something there that they didn’t like.
 
sublight is back said:
My bet is on the Sikorsky platform. I never bought the excuse that the Army decided to go Comanche instead of Osprey, there must be something there that they didn’t like.
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There was. A Secretary of the Army that directed the development of a helicopter, because he did not want to mess around with new technology. There is an interesting RAND study that looked at tilt rotor and conventional rotorcraft as potential LHX platforms that looked at ten standard missions at the individual rotorcraft level. A number of Army helicopter pilots participated in the study. The results showed that the Army aviators independently gave the tilt-rotor superior charecteristics in five of ten, three of ten the two types tied, and two of them the conventional helicopter was superior. Those two happened to be vertical and lateral hover maneuvers. The Army wanted a replacement scout for the OH-58 so within the budget and wanting to reduce risk, armed with the data that conventional rotorcraft went up and down and sideways better, the Comanche was born.
 
yasotay said:
Those two happened to be vertical and lateral hover maneuvers. The Army wanted a replacement scout for the OH-58 so within the budget and wanting to reduce risk, armed with the data that conventional rotorcraft went up and down and sideways better, the Comanche was born.
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Ah, interesting. That probably will clinch it again this time as well, at least for the light and medium FVL. I think the Valor in a Heavy/Ultra config is hard to beat because of range and speed advantages. It is possible they could decide on both platforms, which would make Lockheed super happy.
 
sublight is back said:
yasotay said:
Those two happened to be vertical and lateral hover maneuvers. The Army wanted a replacement scout for the OH-58 so within the budget and wanting to reduce risk, armed with the data that conventional rotorcraft went up and down and sideways better, the Comanche was born.
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Ah, interesting. That probably will clinch it again this time as well, at least for the light and medium FVL. I think the Valor in a Heavy/Ultra config is hard to beat because of range and speed advantages. It is possible they could decide on both platforms, which would make Lockheed super happy.
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Hard to say. If the Special Operations and USMC become involved (they seem to have money still) I woud be willing to say there is a higher probability that both platforms could be produced. Sort of like the YF-16/YF-17 flyoff turned out.
 
Lockheed Martin rebrands Sikorsky

Published on Nov 6, 2015

Lockheed Martin closed its acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft, a world leader in military and commercial rotary-wing aircraft, on November 6, 2015. Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky share a legacy of performance that has shaped the history of aviation for more than a century; a passion for innovation; a sense of duty to the men and women who serve the nation; and a commitment to the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
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https://youtu.be/wuCW7rhb7fs
 
For those of you who were worried that the Sikorsky name would disappear.
 

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They use to have this:



and before that this:




but yeah, at least the name didn't go away like so many other greats.
 
Triton said:
I was hoping that Lockheed Martin was going to update the winged S logo, but didn't believe it was likely.
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Same here... But hey, as sferrin said, at least they kept the name, so it's not so bad.
 

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