Lockheed's Troubled Helicopter Making Progress, Gets $79 Million
- House defense panel releases withheld funds for King Stallion
- Navy sees chopter operational in late 2021 vs December 2019
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Lockheed Martin Corp.’s troubled $31 billion Marine Corps helicopter program has demonstrated enough progress overcoming technical problems that it warrants receiving previously withheld research dollars, according to top lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee.
Committee Chairman Adam Smith and ranking Republican Mac Thornberry wrote then-Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist on July 17 that they agreed to free up $79 million for the CH-53K helicopter, known as the King Stallion. Their letter came two days after a Pentagon briefing on the copter’s progress.