Sikorsky S-92® Helicopters Achieve Remarkable Milestone of Over 2 Million Flight Hours
The worldwide fleet of the versatile Sikorsky S-92 ® helicopters is swiftly amassing flight hours, exceeding 2 million in various operations including search and rescue, oil and gas transportation, and VIP travel across 28 nations. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.
The S-92 was operational for 12 years when it achieved 1 million flight hours. Merely six years later, the fleet is deployed in 28 nations and its flight hours have multiplied.
“The 2 million flight hours benchmark is a testament to the reliability, availability, and cost-efficiency of the S-92 helicopter in some of the globe’s most challenging environments and mission-critical operations,” stated Leon Silva, Sikorsky’s interim vice president of Global Commercial and Military Systems. “Sikorsky is devoted to bolstering these essential missions with continuous innovation to guarantee that operators can respond safely and confidently, in any situation.”
Operators utilizing the S-92 aircraft benefit from an impressive availability rate exceeding 93 percent, a leading safety record—even in challenging conditions—and a credible track record regarding reliability and flexibility.
The Mission
Sikorsky has supplied 300 S-92s, with approximately 86 percent utilized in the offshore oil and gas sector for personnel transport. Every major oil corporation depends on S-92s in their fleets due to the aircraft’s unparalleled efficiency and capacity, which decrease per seat-mile expenses while minimizing required trips and risk.
Fleet aircraft are also engaged in civil search and rescue missions, having accomplished over 91,000 search and rescue operations, along with commercial airline transport, executive transportation, and other priority tasks like coastal and border surveillance, emergency aid, and disaster relief. The S-92 is utilized by 13 nations for head of state missions, and it serves as the foundation for the VH-92A ® helicopter designated for the new U.S. presidential helicopter fleet.
“We are thankful to our clients, our over 150 suppliers globally, and our employees who support our award-winning S-92 program,” Silva remarked. “They have all played a role in achieving this significant milestone, and we anticipate continued success.”
Data-Driven Sustainment and the Future Fleet
Sikorsky’s sophisticated predictive maintenance capabilities are a crucial factor in sustaining Sikorsky’s commercial and military operations, like the S-92. Sikorsky gathers and assesses data from millions of flight hours to pinpoint key maintenance influencers that enhance readiness and decrease costs.
By amalgamating data sets, analytics, machine learning, and prognostic algorithms, Sikorsky provides operators with the insights and components necessary to execute maintenance tasks effectively.
Sikorsky remains committed to investing in and advancing the S-92 helicopter. For instance, this year, an unmodified S-92 completed a remarkable 1,500-mile journey fueled solely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a mixture of biofuel and conventional jet fuel. It marked the first extended flight reliant exclusively on SAF and underscores Lockheed Martin’s dedication to sustainability. SAFs can diminish lifecycle carbon emissions by as much as 80 percent compared to traditional petroleum-based jet fuels.
