Kaman sold the U.S. Marine Corps on its design prototype for a helicopter drone to ferry supplies to ships and combat zones, a major win for the Bloomfield manufacturer that made more than 1,200 shipboard helicopters for the U.S. Navy.

The Marines have ordered the Kaman prototype even as the Pentagon pushed back a decision on an eventual replacement for Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters made by Sikorsky based in Stratford, according to the trade publication FlightGlobal. The Lockheed Martin subsidiary is vying with Textron’s Bell to build a new generation of aircraft for a wide range of missions.

Kaman has its headquarters plant in Bloomfield, where it makes the small K-Max Titan helicopter designed to lift heavy loads. The company is known best for its Seasprite and Super Seasprite helicopters long used by the U.S. Navy for shipboard missions.

Kaman also makes varying systems and components for…

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Source: www.newstimes.com