Sikorsky S-92 (Superhawk)

Medium-Lift Multirole Transport Helicopter [ 2004 ]

International partners were needed by Sikorsky to bring the S-92 product to market - over 200 have since been built for multiple parties the worldover.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/04/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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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 cockpit 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).©MilitaryFactory.com

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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.

Specifications

Service Year

2004

Origin

United States

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

3

Production

300
UNITS

Sikorsky Aircraft - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

National flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Australia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Brazil; Brunei; Canada; China; Ireland; Japan; Kuwait; Mexico; Norway; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; South Korea; Thailand; Turkey; Turkmenistan; United Kingdom; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Special-Mission: Search & Rescue (SAR)
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).

✓ Maritime / Navy
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.

✓ Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.

✓ Commercial Aviation
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.

✓ VIP Service
Used in the Very-Important-Person (VIP) passenger transport role, typically with above-average amenities and luxuries as standard.

Length

56.1 ft
(17.10 m)

Width/Span

56.3 ft
(17.17 m)

Height

15.5 ft
(4.71 m)

Empty Wgt

15,498 lb
(7,030 kg)

MTOW

26,500 lb
(12,020 kg)

Wgt Diff

+11,001 lb
(+4,990 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Sikorsky S-92 production variant)

Installed: 2 x General Electric CT7-8A turboshaft engines developing 2,520 horsepower each while driving a four-bladed main rotor and four-bladed tail rotor.

Max Speed

190 mph
(305 kph | 165 kts)

Ceiling

14,009 ft
(4,270 m | 3 mi)

Range

621 mi
(1,000 km | 1,852 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Sikorsky S-92 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

S-92 - Base Model Designation

S-92A - Civilian market model with variable passenger seating or cargo-hauling capability.

S-92A+- Upgraded S-92A production models to newer standard with advanced computing (MATRIX technology); autonomous landing support; SuperSearch-capable for SAR.

S-92B - New-build S-92+ helicopters though also with enlarged cabin windows; SAR capability if outfitted; common cabin door.

H-92 "Superhawk" - Military model; outfitted with uprated CT7-8C turboshaft engines of 3,070 horsepower and Fly-By-Wire control scheme; SAR kit available for Search / Rescue function.

VH-92 - U.S. Navy / Marine model for Presidential VIP transport.

CH-148 "Cyclone" - Canadian military model based on the S-92.

General Assessment

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.

Overall Rating

The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.

56

Rating is out of a possible 100 points.

Relative Maximum Speed

Hi: 200mph

Lo: 100mph

This entry's maximum listed speed (190mph).

Graph average of 150 miles-per-hour.

City-to-City Ranges

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Sikorsky S-92 operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

Max Altitude Visualization

Design Balance

The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.

Aviation Era Span

Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.

Unit Production (300)

300

36183

44000

Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).

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Images Gallery

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Image from Sikorsky marketing material.

2 / 2

Image from Sikorsky marketing material.

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