Sikorsky Innovations Expected to Develop Mission-Adaptive Rotorcraft Under Prospective DARPA Contract with Sikorsky Aircraft

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February 21, 2010
STRATFORD, Connecticut - Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced today
that its Sikorsky Innovations group has been selected by the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a contract to develop
active rotor technologies that will allow aircraft to adapt to a
changing environment and dynamically enhance performance. Sikorsky
Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

Once the DARPA contract is finalized, the project will have three
phases starting with a $5.9 million contract for Phase I. This phase
will take 16 months and focus on a robust design of the
mission-adaptive rotor system, enabling technology development and
assessment of the benefits. Phases II and III will be competitively
awarded by DARPA at the conclusion of Phase I. Phase II calls for a
validation of the design and ground test, while Phase III will entail
flight testing.

"Adaptive rotor technologies have the potential to vastly improve
performance, and reduce vibration and noise," said Mark Miller, Vice
President of Research and Engineering. "With this DARPA contract,
Sikorsky Innovations will tackle the challenge of making the
helicopter smarter. We are developing the next generation helicopter –
an intelligent and adaptive helicopter that can become aware of its
surroundings, identify the proximity of a threat, adjust in brownout
situations, and respond appropriately."

The program will create new options for the next generation of
aircraft and retrofit possibilities for the existing fleet.