Heli Air-Swiss recently placed an order for the K-Max.
Kaman has
received a second new order for its K-Max medium-to-heavy lift helicopter
in as many months. This brings to 13 the total number of firm orders since the
relaunch of production in 2015.
The most
recent order is from a new operator, Heli Air-Swiss, a member of Heli-Austria
of St. Johann in Pongau, Austria. Heli-Austria currently operates 35
aircraft focused on emergency medical services, tourism, aerial construction
and flight training. Delivery is planned for December. This order follows
another for the aircraft in September from Balzers, Liechtenstein-based Rotex
Helicopter, which currently operates multiple K-Maxs focused on aerial
construction and logging.
The K-Max
was certified in 1994 and the production line was shuttered in 2003 after 38
were built. The helicopter is designed specifically for vertical reference
flight and features a counter-rotating rotor system and is optimized for
external load operations. It can lift up to 6,000 pounds externally and is
powered by a single Honeywell T53-17 turboshaft flat rated to 1,500 shp
(takeoff). The helicopters are manufactured at Kaman’s facilities in
Jacksonville, Florida, and Bloomfield, Connecticut.
In May, the
U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) began the process of reactivating two
unmanned Kaman Aerospace K-Max helicopters (CQ-24As) that were used in
Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from 2011 to 2013. The
helicopters are being retrofitted with the latest generation of unmanned
systems and will be returned to flight status. After that, Kaman said it will
continue to collaborate with the USMC to develop and integrate next-generation
autonomous technology.
During its
33-month Afghanistan deployment, the unmanned K-Max moved 4.5 million pounds of
cargo—the equivalent of 900 ground supply convoys, eliminating 46,000 hours of
exposure to improvised explosive devices, direct fire, and other threats. The
aircraft flew exclusively at night between forward operating bases and remote
outposts.
Kaman also
is continuing to improve the design of optionally piloted vehicles for future
commercial applications, including aerial firefighting and humanitarian relief,
for new and existing aircraft. Earlier this year the company said it
planned on offering an unmanned configuration option for new and existing
aircraft.
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