Speaking at the Helicopter Investor conference in London (22-23 March 2023), Sikorsky’s Jeff Juergens, Director, Commercial O&G, said that the company is actively seeking orders and “getting a lot of interest” to the extent that the company is now projecting an annual production rate of between 12 and 15 aircraft. He claimed that besides aircraft for expansion, the best replacement for an S-92A is an S-92A+.
Indeed, the company was doing much to promote the type both as a SAR and offshore support solution. In addition, it was made clear in Atlanta at the recent HELI-EXPO that all new build examples from 2025 onwards will be built to the S-92A+ configuration. The A+ kit includes the Matrix avionics platform, which allows the incorporation of autonomous landing technologies as well as the Phase IV main gearbox, which has a validated run-dry capability of 500 nm at 80 kts. Presumably, the higher-power GE CT7-8A6 engine option announced in 2019 remains an alternative.
According to Sikorsky, the S-92B programme, which included airframe changes such as bigger cabin windows and a common main door for SAR and other variants in addition to the A+ modifications, has attracted little interest and that, while not cancelled, has been placed in suspended animation for the foreseeable future.
