FAIRFAX, Vermont — LMS has been awarded a contract by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, to design and supply a modernized Fuel Quantity Gauging System (FQGS) for the U.S. Army’s UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter as part of the service’s ongoing fleet modernization program.
The award represents LMS’s first direct participation on the Black Hawk platform, expanding a long-standing supplier relationship with Sikorsky across multiple rotorcraft programs.
The new fuel quantity gauging system will provide more accurate fuel quantity indications and projected remaining fuel information to flight crews. According to LMS, the upgraded system will complement other modernization initiatives, including increased fuel capacity and modular open systems avionics, helping extend the operational range of the UH-60M for future missions.
The contract covers the complete Fuel Quantity Gauging System shipset, including the Signal Conditioning Unit (SCU), Low-Level SCU, fuel quantity probes, and low-level probes and sensors. The program is intended to support upgrades to the existing U.S. Army Black Hawk fleet, with potential follow-on opportunities through Foreign Military Sales programs.
Scott Fewell, President of LMS, said "It is an honor to be directly involved with the Black Hawk program. We have supported Sikorsky on a number of programs over the years, and this award reflects the trust they’ve placed in our technical capabilities and our commitment to the warfighter. We competed for this, we earned it, and we’re ready to deliver."
Although LMS has previously contributed to Black Hawk-related programs through supplier relationships, the company described the contract as its first direct involvement on the aircraft platform, marking a significant milestone in its support of U.S. Army rotary-wing programs.
About LMS: LMS, headquartered in Fairfax, Vermont, is a growing company with a mission to deliver fuel measurement and management solutions for aerospace and defense applications. The company designs, develops, certifies, manufactures, and supports systems and components that meet technical requirements unique to each customer’s application.
Fuel Quantity Gauging System (FQGS)
A Fuel Quantity Gauging System (FQGS) is an aircraft system that measures, calculates, and displays the amount of fuel remaining in an aircraft's tanks. Modern systems typically use capacitance probes, densitometers, and temperature sensors to convert fuel level and density measurements into electrical signals, which are processed by a central computer to provide real-time fuel quantity information. In addition to cockpit displays, an FQGS may support fuel transfer, center-of-gravity management, and refueling operations, depending on the aircraft's design.
Fuel gauging technology has evolved from mechanical float gauges used in early aircraft to electronic capacitance-based systems introduced during the second half of the twentieth century. Current digital architectures integrate electronic control units with aircraft data buses such as ARINC standards and other avionics networks, improving measurement accuracy, reliability, and diagnostic capabilities while supporting the increasingly complex fuel systems found on modern military and commercial aircraft.