Tuesday
January 16, 2001 :
Kaman Signs Contract with U. S. State Department for Delivery of Five K-MAX Helicopters
for Use in Peru Counter Drug Work
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., USA ( Kaman Corp Press Release ) -
Kaman Corporation today announced that its Kaman Aerospace subsidiary has signed a contract for the delivery of five K-MAX external lift helicopters with the U. S. State Department for a value of $21 million. The aircraft will be utilized in Peru in support of that country's counter drug efforts.
The value of the initial contract includes acquisition of the aircraft, equipment and spare parts. A follow-on support contract will be negotiated to cover up to four years of logistics support and training. Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduled for March and April 2001.
Walter R. Kozlow, president, Kaman Aerospace Corp., said, ``This is a very significant contract for the K-MAX program. It marks the first K-MAX sale to the U.S. government and the first application of the aircraft in a law enforcement role.''
The Department of State envisions that the helicopters will be operated and maintained by the Peruvian National Police to provide supplies and equipment to police forces involved in Andean and riverine counter drug operations.
K-MAX is the first aircraft specifically designed for repetitive medium to heavy lift applications and the first helicopter specifically designed for vertical reference flight, an important feature for external load work. The aircraft's narrow profile gives the pilot an unprecedented view of the external load looking out either side of the aircraft.
Developed by Kaman Aerospace Corp., K-MAX uses Kaman's unique intermeshing rotor technology. The aircraft has counter-rotating main rotors and no tail rotor, which allows all engine power to go directly to the rotors for the highest lifting efficiency of any rotor configuration.
Commercial operators in the U. S., Europe, Japan and South America are using their K-MAX aircraft in a variety of applications requiring up to three tons of lift capacity, such as logging, oil and gas exploration, power line work, fire fighting and movement of equipment.
K-MAX has the best ratio between weight lifted and operating costs in its class. K-MAX boasts a 5,000 pound (2268 kg) on-the-hook lift capacity at 8,000 feet of altitude (2446 meters) and 6,000 pounds (2772 kg) on-the-hook at lower altitudes. Customers have demonstrated actual performance in high altitude operations such as 4,630 pounds (2,100 kg) to a density altitude of 12,800 feet (3850 meters) in Europe, and 4,850 pounds (2,200 kg) to a density altitude of 12,400 feet in North America.
The company also is pursuing military roles for K-MAX. The company is nearing completion of a U. S. Marine Corps contract to design and install a prototype remote piloting package in a K-MAX and demonstrate its capability to deliver external loads in troop resupply missions as an unmanned aerial vehicle.
In addition to K-MAX, Kaman Aerospace Corp., manufactures the SH-2G Super Seasprite naval helicopter. The company is a subcontractor for airframe structures used on commercial and military aircraft, including all current Boeing commercial airliners and the C-17 transport, as well as various models of the MD Helicopters family. The company also is a leading manufacturer of fuzing devices for missiles, mass memory systems, specialized cabling for aerospace applications, electro-optic systems and compact electromagnetic motors and generators.
Kaman's Aerospace segment also includes Kamatics Corp., which is a supplier to Boeing of specialized bearings used extensively in all Boeing commercial aircraft.
Kaman Corp., headquartered in Bloomfield, conducts business in the aerospace, industrial distribution and music distribution markets.
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