Sikorsky combat rescue simulator enters final assembly stage
Sikorsky's first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter Weapons System and Operational Flight Trainer has entered its final stage of assembly.
Helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has announced that its first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter Weapons System and Operational Flight Trainer has entered its final stage of assembly. Sikorsky hopes that the aircraft will enter into the US Air Force Fleet in 2020.
The flight trainings will meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, says Sikorsky. They will also have the capability to link with other simulators on the Combat Air Forces Distributed Mission Operations network. After both simulators are completed at subcontractor FlightSafety International's facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, the Weapons System Trainer will then be based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, while the Operational Flight Trainer will be at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Tim Healy, Director, Air Force Programs at Sikorsky, said: “The combat rescue mission is uniquely challenging in that it requires much of the mission planning to occur while in flight rather than prior to flight. This is due to the time-critical nature of the mission and the reality that the threat, location and condition of isolated personnel to be rescued are not fully known prior to take off. This requires that the aircrew become highly skilled at using the enormous networking and information capabilities that reside within the HH-60W, and that takes training and practice.”
Sikorsky’s contract with the US Air Force includes the manufacture of nine HH-60W helicopters, as well as six aircrew and maintenance training devices, and instructional courseware designed specifically for the HH-60W aircraft.
“These Weapons Systems and Operational Flight trainers will allow that training at the highest fidelity and realism ever seen,” added Healy.