Helikopter - CH-53K til ILA Berlin

CH-53K to Make International Debut at Berlin Air Show

By R&WI Staff | March 30, 2018

Berlin Air Show, CH-53K, Heavylift

 
 
 
 
 

A Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter was unloaded from the cargo bay of a C-17 Globemaster, which touched down in Holzdorf, Germany, ahead of its international debut at the ILA Berlin Air Show next month. Photo courtesy Sikorsky

The 2018 ILA Berlin Air Show will see the international debut of Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter. According to Lockheed Martin, this is the first time a King Stallion has been loaded into a C-17 Globemaster and transported to the base of a European ally.

Sikorsky demonstrated the King Stallion's strategic airlift capability during an exercise at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, prior to the departure for Germany.

A trained Sikorsky crew partially disassembled the CH-53K helicopter, loaded it into the C-17 cabin and then unloaded the helicopter while representatives from Naval Air Systems Command and the U.S. Marine Corps observed the exercise. As a result, the CH-53K program achieved its air transportability test loading activity certification from the U.S. Air Force.

The helicopter will remain at the Holzdorf Air Base, a military airfield operated by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), until the start of the ILA Berlin Air Show. The CH-53K will showcase its capabilities, maneuverability and advanced fly-by-wire technology during demonstration flights at the air show.