Obtaining support for launch funding has not been enough to overcome issues with the approval process for the CH-53 Heavylift Helicopter Replacement (HLR) programme.
A final review by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) has again been pushed back, this time to the fourth quarter. It is the second time the meeting has been delayed for six months, and the go-ahead decision is now a year behind schedule.
Also, early design reviews have discovered potentially significant airframe weight growth. Honeywell director of sales and marketing for military engines Rich Douglas says the US Marine Corps has asked about the feasibility of new engine requirements designed to meet weight growth concerns.
Honeywell had planned to offer the T55-715B, a 6,500shp (4,850kW) derivative of the 4,500shp T-55-714A now used by the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. But the USMC's new engine requirements may call for a 7,500shp version, says Douglas, noting the T55 has the flexibility to meet the new requirement.
Another contender, Rolls-Royce, says the 6,000shp AE2100 powerplant was actually designed to achieve 7,000shp, and could feasibly be scaled up if the USMC raises the bar to 7,500shp. The USMC plans to buy 154 CH-53 HLRs to replace an ageing Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion fleet with a version powerful enough to lift a 13,600kg (30,000lb) load over 205km (110nm).
STEPHEN TRIMBLE/WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
