Three milestones for the U.S. Marine Corps’ heavy-lift helicopter fleet, from a record eight-aircraft formation flight to an in-flight fire and the delivery of the CH-53K King Stallion’s first flight simulator
Built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), the CH-53E Super Stallion was the largest and heaviest helicopter in the U.S. military. A related variant, the MH-53E Sea Dragon, served the U.S. Navy’s long-range minesweeping and Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) needs and also handled heavy-lift duties. The newest member of the family, the CH-53K King Stallion, was fitted with new engines, composite-material rotor blades, and a wider cabin.
An eight-aircraft formation flight over North Carolina
On Sep. 22, 2017, eight CH-53 Super Stallions assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302 (HMHT-302) flew in formation out of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, North Carolina, on to MCAS Cherry Point and back, marking the unit’s completion of its fiscal-year training requirements. As Pfc. Nicholas Guevara of II Marine Expeditionary Force reported in Riding the stallion: HMHT-302 conducts formation flight, the squadron’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Enrique Azenon, said launching eight aircraft together was meant to visualize the year’s hard work, noting that so many helicopters in the air at once was usually only seen during an actual operation. One of the pilots earned a special qualification for leading the formation, and Azenon called the flight a win for both the unit and the 2nd Marine Air Wing.
An engine fire forced an emergency landing in Okinawa
Less than three weeks later, on Oct. 11, 2017, a USMC CH-53 helicopter from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 (HMH-462) made an emergency landing in an empty field near Higashi village, Okinawa, after suffering an in-flight engine fire. The Japan Times reported that none of the seven crew members aboard were injured, and video filmed at the site showed another CH-53 attempting to put out the blaze with a helibucket. Japanese authorities asked the U.S. military for a full report and for steps to prevent a recurrence, and the USMC in Japan responded by grounding its CH-53 transport helicopters in Okinawa for four days. Kyodo News reported that the crash site sat roughly 300 meters from residential houses, and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that accidents involving the Marine Corps were continuing and that Japan wanted to make clear its demand for safe operations.
The fire added to a run of mishaps involving Marine Corps aircraft in the region that year. In August 2017, Marines mounted a search-and-rescue operation after an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crashed off Australia’s east coast, rescuing 23 of the 26 personnel aboard. That December, five crew members aboard another MV-22 were hurt when it landed in shallow water off Okinawa, an incident Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called “very regrettable” while stressing that safe operation was a prerequisite for the aircraft remaining based in Japan. A further MV-22 later crashed on a coalition base in Syria, injuring two service members. Together, the accidents fueled protests among Okinawa residents, an island where more than half of the roughly 47,000 American troops stationed in Japan under the two countries’ security alliance were based, and which had endured a major World War II battle followed by 27 years of U.S. occupation.
The CH-53K King Stallion received its first flight simulator
Nearly three years later, on Apr. 14, 2020, the Navy’s H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters program office (PMA-261) took delivery of the first training device built for the CH-53K King Stallion: a Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) installed at MCAS New River, Jacksonville, North Carolina. Built by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Veraxx, the simulator, according to a NAVAIR news release, reproduced realistic cockpit and system displays, simulated weather and tactical environments, and could connect with other simulators for additional training scenarios. Program manager Colonel Jack Perrin called the CFTD “an amazingly capable training device” that cost far less to operate than the real aircraft while still delivering near-aircraft fidelity. Lockheed Martin’s vice president of training and simulation solutions, Tom Gordon, said the device would prepare Marine aviators to fly the digital, fly-by-wire King Stallion in a cost-effective, immersive virtual environment ahead of operational deployment.
The CFTD was the first of several training devices planned for the program; a Helicopter Emulation Maintenance Trainer and a Composite Maintenance Trainer were both expected to follow later that year, with all of the devices eventually based at the Center for Naval Aviation Technology Training (CNATT) at MCAS New River, where the aircraft’s aircrew and maintainers were to be trained. At the time, the CH-53K was finishing development testing ahead of an Initial Operational Test and Evaluation scheduled for 2021, with its first fleet deployment planned for 2023 or 2024.
The King Stallion built on five decades of Sikorsky manufacturing experience with the CH-53A, CH-53D/G, and CH-53E that came before it. Designed for shipboard operations and engineered to be reliable, low-maintenance, and survivable at austere, remote forward bases, the CH-53K was built to the USMC’s specifications to serve as its primary land- and sea-based logistics connector, moving troops and equipment from ship to shore more quickly and effectively than its predecessors.
Photo by U.S. Navy
