Q How do you assess Sikorsky's overall business position and the company's strengths?
A There is no question of Sikorsky's position as a world leader in vertical flight. My challenge and my privilege is to ensure that Sikorsky is the first, biggest and best in vertical lift.
Our future programmes are flying, quite literally, on the threshold of the 21st century. The S-92 Helibus is making great progress in flight test, as is the RAH-66 Comanche, the US Army's next-generation scout helicopter. Black Hawk helicopters for our new 50-aircraft contract are being built and Hawk modernisation programmes are gathering steam.
Our strengths have always been rooted in the quality of our products. Our challenge is to bridge this tradition from current products to the next generation of Sikorsky rotorcraft.
Q The development of the S-92 programme will clearly be an important piece of the jigsaw for you. How confident are you of making a speedy production decision and are we now seeing a definite emphasis, in the short term at least, on military applications for the aircraft?
A I'm confident of an S-92 production decision within a year. Our marketing targets remain balanced between civil and military, as was the case with the S-61, the S-92's predecessor.
The government market is important to the S-92. We are actively marketing to meet medium military requirements in Scandinavia and Canada right now, with other opportunities looming. The utility variant here at Paris illustrates the versatility of the S-92 in that vital market.
Q The Comanche is the helicopter around which you can grow your business for the next 20 years and beyond. Do you see the Apache and the Comanche as complementary or is the Comanche destined to be a replacement at some point in the future?
A It's a bit premature to talk of international sales, but it is already clear that the triumphs of Comanche technology will cross our entire product line. We are already seeing the outgrowth of applying advanced design techniques in the S-92. The technological breakthroughs of the Comanche programme will be aircraft that are simpler and less expensive to produce, while providing operators with higher levels of performance and reduced operating and maintenance cost.
Concerning Comanche and Apache, the US Army sees the pair as warfighting partners.
Q While most attention does seem to be fixed on Comanche, the H-60 series continues to be a valuable source of revenue both in new-build and remanufacturing. How important is it to have this solid base on which to build?
A The Hawk family serves as a springboard to success as the new century opens. The line provides revenue from which we are launching our new programmes.
Our US Government production continues and in addition, the US Army and Navy Hawks will undergo modernisation and service life extension programmes at Sikorsky. Customers around the world who purchase our Hawk family of helicopters know that they are buying an aircraft that has a great future.
Q There has been much talk of continued consolidation within the helicopter industry. There is also speculation that Sikorsky might be interested in a bid for Boeing's military helicopter division. What is the true position?
A We'll look at acquisitions when it aligns to marketplace demands for future growth.
Source: Flight Daily News
