This story is free to read.

Lockheed Martin to buy Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, file photo, a Black Hawk helicopter of the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-71 Aviation Regiment, returns from a mission at Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. Lockheed Martin Corp. said Monday, July 20, 2015, that it is buying Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File) FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, file photo, a Black Hawk helicopter of the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-71 Aviation Regiment, returns from a mission at Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. Lockheed Martin Corp. said Monday, July 20, 2015, that it is buying Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

By Associated Press July 20, 2015 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Lockheed Martin is buying Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion.

United Technologies Corp. said in June that it planned to shed Sikorsky, either through a sale or spinoff. The aerospace and building systems conglomerate wants to focus on high-technology systems and services for the aerospace and building industries.

Aside from Black Hawk helicopters, Sikorsky makes presidential helicopters. Sikorsky helicopters have also returned astronauts home after they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their space travels.

Lockheed Martin Corp. said Monday that it plans to add Sikorsky to its mission systems and training unit. The Bethesda, Maryland, defense contractor expects to fund the acquisition with cash on hand and new debt issuances.

United Technologies, based in Hartford, Connecticut, said that it plans to use the sale’s proceeds for additional stock buybacks.

The deal is targeted to close by the end of the year or in 2016’s first quarter.