STRATFORD, Conn. (AP) – A five-week-old strike at Sikorsky Aircraft is causing “rapidly dwindling” supplies of spare parts for a military helicopter used in Iraq and around the world, a U.S. Navy spokesman said.

The strike by 3,500 Teamsters is forcing the Navy to borrow parts from helicopters undergoing maintenance in order to keep the Seahawk helicopters in operation, Capt. Thomas Van Leunen, spokesman for the Navy’s chief acquisition officer, told The Associated Press.

“The on-hand supplies are rapidly dwindling,” Van Leunen said. “It has started to have a pretty significant impact on the H-60 fleet.”

It is the first acknowledgment that the Sikorsky strike is having an impact on the military. The Navy has about 300 Seahawks in operation around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, Van Leunen said.

Sikorsky has not been made aware of a need by the Navy to borrow parts due to the strike, company spokesman Bud Grebey said Wednesday.

“We are aware that fleet readiness is the Navy’s highest priority and we are supporting them accordingly,” Grebey said. “We’re tracking spares down to the part number and delivering them in accordance with the Navy’s needs.”

So far, the strike has not affected the ability to operate the fleet, Van Leunen said.

“We’re obviously concerned about the long-term impact if the strike does not settle soon,” Van Leunen said. “We’re obviously concerned the longer the strike goes on it could eventually have an impact on those deployed H-60s.”

Roco Calo, secretary-treasurer of the striking Teamsters Local 1150, said he believed the Navy’s concerns would put pressure on the company to settle the contract dispute.

“I don’t know who else does what we do,” Calo said as he marched with about 900 other striking workers outside the headquarters of Sikorsky’s parent company, United Technologies, in Hartford.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Wednesday she was increasingly worried about the prolonged strike.

“What frightens me the most is that this continues to go on week, after week,” Rell said. “And the one fear I have the most is that those people who are depending on UTC for construction of a helicopter may look at Connecticut and say, ‘I’m not sure we really can afford to keep doing business here, we may have to look somewhere else.’ Or, that Sikorsky will be looking for replacement workers … to meet the needs of those who have contracts with them. That’s a serious concern.”

Sikorsky officials have said the company is implementing a contingency plan that includes shifting work to facilities out of Connecticut and arranging for contract employees through third-party suppliers. The company also has said the plan calls for hiring replacement workers if necessary. None have been hired so far.

“We are increasing production capacity every day,” Grebey said. “Should this strike continue, our contingency plan will bring our operations back to full production. The Navy has been fully briefed on our plan and is supportive of our efforts.”

Teamsters have been on strike since Feb. 20 over proposed increases to employees’ health insurance contributions in the company’s contract offer. It is the first strike at the company in Connecticut since 1960.

“Throughout the strike, all of our customers have continued to fly,” Grebey said. “We’re delivering aircraft. We’re delivering parts.”

Sikorsky is meeting the U.S. Army’s goals for spare parts and maintaining helicopters, said Kim Henry, a spokeswoman.

The U.S. Army said it has over 200 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters deployed in Iraq.

The Navy tends to maintain fewer spare parts because of limited space aboard ships for inventory, Van Leunen said.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute think tank, has warned that a lengthy strike could pose a problem for the military, especially in getting vital spare parts such as rotor blades. Spare parts range from fasteners to complex electronic equipment.

Many spare parts require precise machining and sophisticated tests and assembling before they can be sent to the military, Thompson said.

“This is potentially a very serious problem,” Thompson said. “The problem will not go away the day the strike ends. What has happened is there has been a break in the supply line.”

Connecticut’s congressional delegation warned last week that a prolonged strike could hurt Sikorsky’s ability to win more military contracts.

The union and the company have exchanged proposals through a federal mediator in the past week, but each has been rejected.

“As far as I can see, we are at impasse,” Sikorsky wrote in the latest letter to union officials.

Shares of United Technologies closed Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange at $58.31, up 3 cents.

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Associated Press Writers Susan Haigh and Stephen Singer contributed to this story.

AP-ES-03-29-06 1642EST