“Continued demand and interest in the capabilities of the K-MAX^® have provided us the confidence to extend production into 2019 at a minimum. This is great news for operators who need the K-MAX^® to perform their repetitive lift missions cost effectively. Our team has done a great job assessing the global market and working with potential and existing customers to secure additional orders for our K-MAX^® helicopter,” said Greg Steiner, President, Kaman Aerospace Group.

K-MAX^® aircraft are manufactured in the company’s North American facilities in Jacksonville, Florida and Bloomfield, Connecticut. Orders for new K-MAX^® aircraft have thus far come from China, Europe and North America.

K-MAX^® aircraft are used around the world for firefighting, logging, powerline construction and other missions requiring repetitive aerial lift capabilities. The U.S. Marine Corps maintains two unmanned K-MAX^® aircraft developed with Lockheed Martin. These aircraft successfully supported the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan for thirty-three months from 2011-2014 carrying more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo. Additional unmanned firefighting and humanitarian missions for K-MAX^® are also being developed and tested.

Development of the K-MAX^® was led by Kaman founder and former CEO, aviation pioneer Charles H. Kaman, and received Federal Aviation Administration certification in 1994. The single-engine, single-seat K-MAX^® is a rugged low-maintenance aircraft that features a counter-rotating rotor system and is optimized for external load operations and designed specifically for vertical reference flight. The aircraft can lift up to 6,000 pounds (2,722 kg).

The company will have representatives at the Paris Air Show (June 19-22) to discuss sales from the extended production run. Our team will be available to answer any questions relative to the K-MAX^® helicopter and Kaman’s other products and services at the Kaman Stand D118, Hall 3.