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Lockheed (LMT) Wins Contract for UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopter

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Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (LMT - Free Report) business unit, Sikorsky, recently secured a modification contract involving the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. The award has been offered by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL.

Valued at $15.1 million, the contract is expected to be completed by Jun 30, 2027. The work related to this deal will be performed in Stratford, CT.

UH-60M Aircraft’s Specifics

The multi-mission UH-60M is the latest in the Black Hawk helicopter family and is more capable, survivable, maintainable, powerful and effective than its predecessors. The UH-60M has an additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, better-handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control and improved survivability.

The aircraft is the primary medium-lift helicopter for the U.S. Army, working on a wide range of missions including Air Assault, MEDEVAC, CSAR, Command and Control, and VIP transport. The centerpiece of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter is an advanced digital avionics suite that provides improved situational awareness and interoperability using the Future Combat System.

What Favors Lockheed?

In recent times, U.S. military helicopters have gained prominence and significant traction due to advancements and integration of new tactical, logistical and other important features. Some of these developments can be attributed to Lockheed paving the way for securing valuable helicopter-related contracts of late. The recent contract win is a bright example of that.

With the fiscal 2024 defense budget offering investment potential worth $61.1 billion in aircraft, we expect Lockheed’s Rotary and Mission Systems business segment, which comprises the Sikorsky helicopters, to benefit.

Helicopter Market Prospects

The military helicopter market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period 2023-2033, per a report by Visiongain market research firm. This indicates solid business opportunities for renowned combat helicopter manufacturers like Lockheed, Textron (TXT - Free Report) , Airbus (EADSY - Free Report) and Boeing (BA - Free Report) .

Textron’s business unit, Textron Aviation Defense designs, builds and supports versatile and globally known military aircraft preferred for training and attack missions. Some of Textron’s renowned products include the Beechcraft T-6C trainer and AT-6 Wolverine.

TXT boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales implies growth of 7.2% from the 2022 reported figure.

Airbus is one of the world's largest suppliers of advanced military helicopters. Its product portfolio includes the H135 combat helicopter, H145M helicopter, AS565 MBe, H160M, H175M, H215M, H225M and a few more.

EADSY boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales implies growth of 18.4% from the year-ago reported figure.

Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security segment’s primary products include fixed-wing military aircraft, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-15 programs, P-8 programs, KC-46A Tanker and T-7A Red Hawk. This segment also produces rotorcraft and rotary-wing programs such as CH-47 Chinook, AH-64 Apache and V-22 Osprey.

BA boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales implies an improvement of 18% from the 2022 reported figure.

Price Movement

In the past year, shares of Lockheed have risen 2.5% against the industry’s 4.9% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank

Lockheed currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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