AWARD WINNING EDITORIAL
OCTOBER 18, 2021 VOL. 57, No. 41
INCLUDING THE HUDSON VALLEY WEEKLY SECTION
westfaironline.com
A pair of US Navy Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks. Credit: Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT HUMMING ALONG Nearing its centennial, the firm IN STRATFORD is flying high with big-dollar deals BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN
kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
T
These are heady times for Sikorsky Aircraft. Over the past few weeks, the division of
Lockheed Martin, based in Stratford, delivered its first Connecticut-built CH-53K helicopter to the U.S. Marine Corps; submitted, in partnership with Boeing, a formal proposal for the U.S. Army’s program to eventually replace the Black Hawk helicopter; and received approval from the U.S. Department of State for a potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deal whereby the Royal Australian Navy
would purchase 12 Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk submarine-hunting helicopters for an estimated $985 million. All of this — and more — is taking place under Paul Lemmo, who’s been president Sikorsky for all of 10 months. But he’s hardly a newcomer to the industry — or indeed the corporation. “I’ve been with Lockheed Martin (which acquired Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp.
in 2015 for $9 billion) for about 34 years,” he told the Business Journal. “I started as a 19-year-old intern, got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, and decided that I loved working there so much that after graduation I came back permanently.” Lemmo’s Lockheed journey led him to various positions of increasing responsibility in business development, engineer-
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ing and program management, with stops in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey among others. In 2018, he was named vice president and general manager, Integrated Warfare Systems & Sensors, followed this past November by the announcement that he would become Sikorsky’s president starting in January. “When it was offered to me, I didn’t have to think about it for very long,” he said. For its second quarter, Lockheed Martin — the world’s largest defense company, with nearly $62.6 billion in revenue last year — announced that net sales had increased year-overyear by $203 million, or 5%, while Q2 operating profit was up $29 million, or 7%. The corporation credited Sikorsky for being a
significant factor in both results: Net sales benefited from approximately $230 million for Sikorsky helicopter programs due to higher production volume on the Black Hawk, Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), and CH-53K programs, while most of the gains in operating profit — $20 million — was attributed to the same programs. The CH-53K heavy-lift cargo helicopter — a behemoth at 99 feet long and 18 feet high —costs $87 million each and is touted as the largest and most powerful helicopter built in the West. The U.S.M.C. ultimately plans to receive 200 helicopters at a total cost of $25 billion; Sikorsky expects to deliver its second Stratfordbuilt chopper early next year. » SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT
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