As this issue was going to print, the US Marine Corps (USMC) announced that the CH-53K King Stallion had finally achieved initial operational capability (IOC) on April 22, with a full-rate production decision coming next year. In a media briefing at the Navy League's Sea Air Space Exposition on April 5, Col. Jack D. Perrin, the program manager for the H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters Program, added that the first scheduled deployment of the CH-53K will take place in 2024 and full operational capability is planned for 2029.
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