Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, celebrated its 100th anniversary alongside defense and industry partners at the biennial Latin American Aerospace, Defense and Security (LAAD) trade show
Sikorsky executives highlighted the longstanding partnership with Brazil's armed forces and honored its achievements and continued contributions to vertical flight.
“2023 is a significant year for Sikorsky as we celebrate our 100th anniversary,” said Sikorsky Latin America Regional Executive Adam Schierholz. “Our founder, Igor Sikorsky, envisioned the helicopter becoming a powerful tool for saving lives and carrying out missions in the most difficult and complex conditions. Our customers' missions – especially here in Brazil and across Latin America – are a testament to that vision and motivate us to continue innovating and improving our aircraft and how we build them.”
Schierholz highlighted Sikorsky's nearly 70-year relationship with Brazil, which dates back to 1958, when the Brazilian Air Force acquired four H-19D Chickasaw helicopters assigned to the "Pelican Squadron" of the 2nd/10th Aviation Group for search and rescue operations. rescue. From there, Sikorsky's relationship with Brazil developed. In 1972, after a fire consumed a 26-story building in São Paulo, Igor Sikorsky wrote his last correspondence praising the rescue operation that involved 20 helicopters saving the lives of 400 people, confirming his vision of the helicopter as an “exceptional vehicle for the widest variety of rescue missions.” This link continues today with the fleet of UH-60L/M Black Hawks of the Brazilian Army and Air Force and the operation of S-70B Seahawks of the Navy.
“The Hawk family of multi-mission aircraft provides the Brazilian Armed Forces with critical capabilities that will continue to their readiness, interoperability and security for decades to come,” said Schierholz. “We will continue to provide our operators with the and competitive advantage they need to stay ahead of the security challenges of the XNUMXst century.”
During the recognition ceremony, Schierholz and Felipe Benvegnu, Global Aftermarket Director at Sikorsky, presented plaques to representatives of the Brazilian Army, Air Force and Navy to honor the aerial achievements of each service in operating Sikorsky aircraft, including:
- Brazilian Army Aviation received recognition for 25 years of Black Hawk operations;
- The Air Force was commended for achieving its 50.000th flight hour with its UH-60L fleet
- The Navy was recognized for reaching the milestone of 10.000 flight hours with its S-70B Seahawk fleet.
“All of these aircraft have been an important part of search, rescue and relief missions, including the recent humanitarian operations in of the Yanomami people in January,” said Benvegnu. “We are absolutely honored to the courageous work of the Brazilian Army, Air Force and Navy, and are thrilled to be here at LAAD to mark this occasion alongside such distinguished operators.”
Sikorsky continues to expand its business in Latin America. To ensure the highest readiness rates of more than 300 helicopters in the field, Sikorsky has established S-92 and S-76 rotor blade repair and parts inventory capabilities in Brazil to serve the offshore oil industry; and in Colombia, training operations, maintenance and flight repair facilities to Black Hawk aircraft in the region.
“We are committed to ing all H-60 and S-70 operators and look forward to maintaining long-lasting partnerships in the Hawk program for years to come,” added Dina Halvorsen, Program Director, Black Hawk Sustainment at Sikorsky. “It remains our top priority to meet customer requirements and meet the needs of current and future operating units. With unparalleled versatility and global interoperability, Hawk aircraft continue to advance t and t operations in all domains.”
