Sikorsky Celebrates Its History With 5,000th ‘Hawk’ Delivery, Says the Future Is Still Bright Despite Contract Loss
Jan. 20—STRATFORD — Sikorsky Aircraft officials celebrated the delivery of the company's 5,000th "Hawk" helicopter Friday. The company also touted its history, while officials work to maintain that a significant portion or its workers won't be consigned to it.
The company, a subsidiary of defense juggernaut Lockheed Martin, is the lifeblood of Stratford, and its roughly 8,000 employees have helped drive the economy of greater Bridgeport for decades.
Just one mark of its deep roots is that members of multiple generations of the same families have worked at the company's sprawling plant on the bank of the Housatonic River through the years.
Like Sharmee Walton, a senior operations manager who emceed Friday's event, whose mother, Robin Silva, is in her 44th year at the company and currently works as an inspector. Walton's late grandfather, Robert Edmonds, also worked at the company for a decade, she said.
"Being part of something bigger than oneself has always filled our employees with pride and gratitude," Walton said, noting the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
The company is most closely associated with its Black Hawk helicopter, which has been in service since the late 1970s. The model and its derivative "Hawk" variants have served a plethora of roles in the most critical military and civilian applications worldwide, with the 5,000th handed over formally to the Air National Guard at the end of Friday's event.
"Any time you get to build 5,000 aircraft of anything, it's pretty remarkable," Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo said. "The Black Hawk and all of our other products represent an incredible culture of innovation that's been with us since the company started by our founder, Igor Sikorsky, over 100 years ago."
Jim Taiclet, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin, said that while he was an Air Force pilot, "I felt a heck of a lot better going out when we knew the Hawks were back there and could come get us if we needed."
Executives and politicians stressed repeatedly Friday that the Black Hawk has a bright future that will continue for decades into the future, highlighting new innovations like uninhabited "Optionally Piloted Vehicles."
What they didn't talk about — until a press availability afterward, when they were peppered with questions from reporters about it — was the U.S. Army's decision last year to choose rival Bell for a $1.3 billion contract to produce an aircraft that the Army envisions would replace its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters.
Recognizing the importance of the Black Hawk program, state lawmakers authorized incentives for Sikorsky if it landed the deal, and company leaders predicted "explosive" growth if it had.
The company has challenged the decision and expects to know the outcome in April.
Lemmo said repeatedly that the decision would have "no major immediate impact" on the company's work force, without being more specific.
"It is not a one-for-one replacement for the Black Hawk, which is why I say with confidence that the Black Hawk will be flying for at least the next four decades," he said. "For the foreseeable future, we don't see any significant impact to the work force here."
Sen. Chris Murphy said that Connecticut's congressional representatives have asked for a briefing for military officials to fill them in on why Bell was chosen, "especially if there's a major difference in cost to the taxpayers between the two helicopter platforms, which there clearly appears to be in this case."
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said that more specific cost figures couldn't be shared yet because "the numbers are proprietary at the moment."
Lemmo listed other contracts Sikorsky is bidding for and other models it's building, like the CH-53 King Stallion, as cause for optimism.
Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick echoed the sentiment.
"There will be other opportunities," she said. "I think that Sikorsky will be here for a long time."
Gov. Ned Lamont noted that the presidential helicopter, Marine One, is also made by Sikorsky, "right here in Connecticut by the best work force in the world."
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