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April 9, 2019CH-53K Deliveries Postponed
The US cannot get rid of delays in aviation programs. After the delays in the KC-46 Pegasus, the CH-53K King Stallion helicopters will be delayed too.
CH-53K King Stallion helicopters with a total program cost of US $ 31 billion and developed in accordance with the demands of the US Marine Corps will be delivered with a delay of at least 19 months. The problems identified during the development tests were shown to cause disruption in the program. 106 technical problems identified in helicopters that failed to meet the targets set for December 2018, 94 of them still remain to be resolved. USMC explained that the problems found were not high risk and could be solved. The delivery date for the program is specified as the period between July and September 2021. Due to the series of failures that started with the problem of exhaust gas ingestion before, the Marine Corps reduced nine orders for its 2020 fiscal budget to six.
CH-53K is in same size as the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters but can carry three times more payload than its predecessor. US plans to procure 200 units , which is capable of carrying 12 thousand 200 kilograms.