Army orders aviation stand down in wake of fatal helo accidents
On Thursday, three soldiers were killed in a mid-air collision between two Apache attack helicopters in Alaska, weeks after nine died in a Black Hawk incident in Kentucky.
The 3 key questions the Army is asking about the UH-60 Black Hawk’s future
“For the next 40 to 60 years, I see us continuing to incrementally improve [the Black Hawk fleet],” Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told lawmakers on April 19.
Army postpones production decision for UH-60V Black Hawk cockpit redesign
“The milestone decision authority is following a very deliberate and rigorous review process to ensure that the 60V is ready for full-rate production,” a spokesperson for the Program Executive Office for Aviation told Breaking Defense.
Leonardo: If UK wants to meet new medium helo target, industry needs design details
"Clearly the longer these negotiations take…. the harder it is for any defense contractor to be able to then say that they've got a low-risk solution, [especially] if the end date for delivery doesn't move," Adam Clarke, managing director at Leonardo Helicopters UK, told Breaking Defense.
New & Old NGAUS Leaders Say Active-Guard Relations Better, But…
WASHINGTON: “Trust, but verify.” On Gus Hargett’s last day at the National Guard Association of the United States, that’s the advice the long-time NGAUS president gave his successor, Roy Robinson, on dealing with regular active-duty leaders. “I think these guys want to do the right thing,” said Hargett, particularly praising the Army Chief of Staff, […]
Sikorsky Unveils HH-60U For Air Force Nuke Response
CORRECTED: Passenger Capacity WASHINGTON: The day before the Air Force Association’s annual winter conference begins, the newest wrinkle in the years-long saga of deciding what aircraft the Air Force would buy to secure America’s nuclear missile fields was announced. Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky will offer — surprise! — an updated version of the Black Hawk helicopter, the HH-60U. […]
Why America Really Needs ITEP Engines
With the Association of the US Army’s annual conference starting Monday, there is no better time for an analysis of the top modernization program for Army aviation. And we’ve got one of the top experts on helicopters providing the commentary, Mike Hirschberg of the American Helicopter Society International. Should the Army plow ahead with an engine upgrade […]
‘Optionally Piloted’ Aircraft Studied For Future Vertical Lift
WASHINGTON: The military wants to replace a host of current helicopters with aircraft that not only fly much faster, but can fly without a human pilot. The Army-led Future Vertical Lift program will study whether FVL should be an “Optionally Piloted Vehicle,” capable of accommodating a pair of highly-trained human pilots for complex combat missions or of […]
Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP
Critics say the Army could end up wasting billions by developing a better engine for its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters even as the joint Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative gets underway to replace those aircraft. The critics are wrong, program officials assure us. But the critics still disagree. A new Army […]
Air Force Abandons Sole Source Nuke Helos Deal
With legislators demanding open competition for new helicopters to carry security teams to far-flung missile silos in an emergency, the Air Force has bowed to congressional pressure. Sikorsky had been hopeful of a $1.4 billion sole-source deal to replace the aging UH-1N helicopters, whose poor performance in counterterrorism drills had the Air Force saying it needed to bypass […]
Air Force Strategy on UH-1N: Wait and Hurry Up
What could justify the Air Force awarding a sole source contract for helicopters worth close to a billion – that’s a thousand millions – dollars? Pick an answer: A classified joint service military exercise called Mighty Guardian in which some of the 62 aging UH-1N Huey helicopters failed their assignment to carry security forces to […]
Army Aviation Budget Plunges Earthward
Aviation, always the Army’s largest modernization account, goes into a nosedive in the fiscal 2017 budget, plunging from $5.9 billion to $3.6 billion. The $2.3 billion cut more than makes up for a $1.3 billion cut to total Army spending that helps fund readiness, operations and maintenance. But with aviation accounting for 25 percent of the […]
Army Commission: Pay More To Keep Apaches in Guard
UPDATED: Retired Gen. Ham Adds Apache Cost Info At Friday breakfast WASHINGTON: The congressionally chartered National Commission on the Future of the Army recommends splitting the difference between the regular Army and the National Guard in a bitterly polarizing dispute over AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. That’s the most politically high-profile recommendation out of dozens, many of them […]