Boeing’s Ridley Park plant has a good shot at manufacturing the U.S. Army’s new generation of Black Hawk helicopters, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The Army is reviewing bids and should soon announce the winner to develop a future long-range assault aircraft that would replace the Black Hawk.

Boeing has joined Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, on the bid.

If Boeing gets the contract, the production facility at Boeing’s Ridley Park facility would be expanded.

Mark Cherry, vice president for vertical lift at Boeing Defense, said the contract would benefit multiple generations in the region.

“I want the current second-graders in downtown Philly to be working on the Defiant X, the next-generation Black Hawk,” Cherry said. “This is something that only comes along every 50 years.”

Boeing teams are working on the early stages of the Defiant X, the fastest, most maneuverable military aircraft in history. It will fly at more than 230 miles per hour, “twice as far and twice as fast as the Black Hawk helicopter it will replace,” said Boeing.

Read more about Boeing in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Here’s a September 2021 look at the contracts with Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the new Defiant aircraft.

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