The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has chosen the Sikorsky CH-53K to be its next heavy-lift helicopter. This will undoubtedly be a massive improvement from the 22 old CH-53D ‘Yasur’ aircraft they have been using for over four decades.
Israeli soldier and current defense minister, Benny Gantz, revealed that the ministry had no qualms about buying the Sikorsky CH-53K. After all, the IDF took its time exploring and evaluating various options on the market, one of them being the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. As the ministry further disclosed, the Sikorsky CH-53K is ideally suited to meet the Israel Defense Force’s needs in terms of technology, maintenance, and engineering. With this new aircraft, the IDF is assured of higher chances of victory during battle.
The CH-53K is still being built, and the IDF expects it to be ready for use in 2030. Information about the number of helicopters that Israel intends to buy or when they will be delivered is yet to be released. The country has also not talked about the amount of money it plans to spend on the CH-53K. Meanwhile, the Israeli military forces are preparing to leave the CH-53D Sea Stallion ‘Yasur’ fleet behind.
The CH-53Ds may have served the IDF for the longest time, but it doesn’t mean that they have provided the best experiences. Several of these helicopters have been reduced to nothing during crashes. For instance, two of them were lost during a midair collision in 1997. Another was involved in a crash in 2019 due to a defect that the IDF knew nothing about. To upgrade these aging aircraft, Israel got Five American Navy surplus helicopters in 2019, plus the fleet had also received various upgrades before.
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Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin