Sikorsky S-92 (Superhawk) Medium-Lift Multirole Transport Helicopter (2024)

In 2004, Sikorsky introduced its latest helicopter market entry through the S-92 medium-lift helicopter product. The helicopter was developed to succeed the aging and outgoing line of S-3 series helicopters and has since been built in over 200 examples serving civilian, military and governmental entities. Some high-profile variants have also been born from the base S-92 design.

Development of the S-92 achieved momentum during the early 1990s when a mockup was revealed at the time. However, faced with an economic downturn in the international helicopter market, Sikorsky was forced to pull back the reigns of the S-92 project and sought international help in bringing the product to market. The group - involving Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan, Gamesa of Spain, Jingdezhen of China, Taiwan Aerospace, Embraer of Brazil, and MIL of Russia - became known as "Team S-92" and the S-92 program was officially launched during the 1995 Paris Air Show.

The S-92 was designed upon several key proven components and qualities seen in the earlier H-60 family helicopters (the H-60 forming the basis of the successful UH-60 "Black Hawk" family). At least 40% of the new aircraft's construction involved composites. A ramp with applicable access was fitted to the fuselage rear for expediting loading / unloading of cargo. The co*ckpit was all-modern with four large LCD panels and sat its crew of two in a side-by-side arrangement. The passenger area could be reworked to seat between nineteen and twenty-two depending on seating configuration or cleared out altogether to haul cargo containers. The twin turboshaft engine arrangement was used to power a four-bladed composite main rotor with a four-bladed tail rotor seated to starboard. The elevated tail stem provided good clearance and access to the loading ramp underneath. The tricycle wheeled undercarriage was made fully-retractable into the airframe.

Two major variants ultimately emerged - one intended for the civilian market and the other for military service. The S-92 became the civilian market form (originally known as the S-92C "Helibus") and has since found a few notable homes worldwide, generally as part of airlines or offshore oil drilling companies. Operators have been seen in Brunei, Canada, China, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United States. Additionally, this model has been accepted as a governmental support transport aircraft as witnessed by the growing collection of operators committed to it - from Azerbaijan and Bahrain to Turkey and Turkmenistan.

The H-92 "Superhawk" is the military offering and has been completed with uprated General Electric CT7-8C series turboshaft engines of 3,070 horsepower (each) for the rigors of military service. The aircraft also carries a digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) control scheme which is absent in the base S-92 form.

The United States Marine Corps have ordered a stock of six helicopters to modify it for the "Marine One" Presidential transport role under the "VH-92" designation. Funding for some twenty-three of this model were covered in the U.S. Navy's 2015 budget. The S-92 originally faced off against the Lockheed VH-71 "Kestrel" and lost the Marine One ("VXX") competition. However, as the VH-71 suffered delays and cost overruns during its protracted development, the competition was reopened in 2010 and Sikorsky handed in the only bid - therefore they were announced the winner of VXX in May of 2014 while the Kestrel product was cancelled (nine were built and subsequently sold off to Canada).

The Sikorsky CH-148 "Cyclone" is a Canadian military offshoot of the militarized Superhawk. While a first-flight was held back in November of 2008 (official delivery was to occur that month), the program has suffered from consistent setbacks during its development phase. Only six have been produced to date (2016) of the 28 systems on order.

Other global military operators of the S-92 family include Kuwait (Air Force) and South Korea (Air Force).

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February 2019 - It was announced that an unnamed Mexican oil-and-gas industry customer has ordered an unspecified number of S-92 helicopters from Sikorsky.

March 2019 - Sikorsky has unveiled the S-92A+ and S-92B production models featuring modernized / upgraded systems for enhanced performance and mission support. A+ models will be updated in-service S-92A helicopters while B-models will be new-build systems.

August 2019 - Brazil has approved/certified a Search and Rescue (SAR) variant of the Sikorsky S-92. This now completes the possibility that the helicopter can be sold in its various forms across various Brazil civilian and commercial industries.

April 2020 - Cougar Helicopters, serving the offshore oil and gas sector, has been announced as the launch customer for the new S-92A+ helicopter model.

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