Sikorsky plans to roll out its Matrix autonomy technology on the S-92 heavy helicopter as part of the first major upgrade to the type since it entered the market 15 years ago.
Despite the downturn in commercial demand for heavy helicopters, largely due to the slump in energy prices, the manufacturer wants to prepare the aircraft for an envisaged wave of new orders for replacement aircraft and to fight off stiff competition from the super-medium types developed by Airbus, Bell and Leonardo that have captured market share with their lower operating costs.
Sikorsky hopes to bring S-92A+/B models to the market in 2022
New technologies can be retrofitted to all approximately 290 S-92As in service
The use of Matrix on the S-92 represents the company’s first use of the technology in its product line and “brings advanced computing power into the aircraft,” says David Martin, the company’s lead for the oil-and-gas market.
Matrix’s introduction paves the way for a more advanced version of the company’s Rig Approach technology that reduces the workload for offshore pilots. Along with enabling preflight planning, it will fly the complex approaches to offshore rigs to within 0.25 mi. of the platform.
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Matrix also will enable Sikorsky’s SuperSearch algorithms, developed in-house, which the company says can assist in search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, locating objects 30% faster. The algorithms adapt the search patterns to uses beyond the traditional ones loaded into existing SAR rotorcraft.
Although the introduction of Matrix will mean changes to the flight control systems, Sikorsky is not planning to introduce the fly-by-wire (FBW) controls from the Cyclone version of the aircraft used by the Canadian Armed Forces.
“What we are finding is that you may not need to have a full fly-by-wire system to get the benefits in automation, or the value that comes from FBW,” says Martin.
Other changes aim to reduce the cost of ownership and production by redesigning components, as well as increasing the time between overhauls of some dynamic systems.

The S-92 will be the first Sikorsky product to benefit from the company’s
Matrix autonomy technology. Credit: Skip Robinson/Sikorsky

Sikorsky has been hinting at introducing an updated model of the S-92 for several years. It has made several incremental changes to the avionics and steadily increased the maximum gross weight to 12 metric tons (26.500 lb.), and that could further grow to 12.5 tons, suggests Martin.
“Our customers have told us to focus more on operating-cost reduction and reliability,” he says. With several new technologies maturing simultaneously, he notes the company saw an opportunity not only to reduce acquisition and operating costs, but also introduce upgrades.
“When we looked at it, we thought if we bring all this together . . . then the value of the whole is greater than the individual parts,” he says.
Sikorsky’s aim is to be able to retrofit all the approximately 290 S-92As in operation with the new systems and bring them up to the S-92A+ standard. New-build aircraft will be known as S-92Bs. The goal is to produce a fleet with a virtually identical configuration.
Such standardization is an important topic in the helicopter community, especially with oil-and-gas helicopters increasingly repurposed to suit other missions. A helicopter configured to perform a range of missions will hold more value, an important consideration for lessors.
The B model will differ slightly: The fuselage will feature larger cabin windows and a larger cabin door, which the company says will be better suited for SAR and offshore operations.
Larger cabin windows have become a necessity, as they provide additional emergency egress options for passengers in the event of ditching. In the UK, oil workers now have their shoulder breadth measured so that their seat locations can be matched to be compatible with the emergency exit size.
The new models will feature a modernized Phase IV main gearbox, which Sikorsky says exceeds FAA requirements to operate for 30 min. without lubrication. A previous version of the S-92 gearbox did not achieve that specification, yet the FAA still allowed certification of the aircraft.
“This is an all-new gearbox,” says Martin, noting that in trials of the gearbox, witnessed by FAA officials with primary lubrication oil removed, the helicopter was still able to fly 500 nm at 80 kt. The redesign introduces new materials and dynamics, he says.
The company also is proposing the use of the CT7-8A6 turboshaft, an uprated version of the General Electric engine used on the VH-92, the S-92 derivative slated to become the new “Marine One” U.S. presidential transport, as an option for the S-92A+ and B models. The engine produces more power in hot-and-high conditions.
Work to bring S-92As up to the A+ standard will be carried out at authorized service centers. Sikorsky also is exploring the potential of an exchange program, with the company taking in S-92As in exchange for B models.
“We are anticipating a lot of customer interest,” say Martin. It is that level of interest that will define how quickly some of the capabilities will be introduced. Sikorsky says the S-92A+ and B could be available to the market from 2022.

Rig Approach 2.0 will be capable of flying the aircraft from take-off until roughly 0.25nm (0.5km) from offshore rigs, at which point the pilots take over, says Martin. SuperSearch can help crew locate missing objects 20-30% faster by flying the aircraft along optimised, algorithm-created flight patterns.
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