Posted on 02/11/2010 1:38:12 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
With nearly $12.5 billion in the proposed U.S. Navy and Army rotorcraft budget for Fiscal 2011, it would seem the services are flush with funding. And yet there is an eerie theme common to the programs receiving dollars: None of them is new.
The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), released Feb. 1 in conjunction with the Fiscal 2011 budget request, puts availability of rotary-wing assets at the top of its list to ensure success in counterinsurgency, stability and counterterrorism operations. The UH-60M Black Hawk is the big winner for the Army, with $1.25 billion requested to sustain production of 74 aircraft. Another $100 million is included for advanced procurement, and two more helicopters are covered under $40.5 million worth of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.
The CH-47F Chinook comprises $1.2 billion of the budget, while the AH-64 Apache would get $494 million for procurement, $93 million for research and development, and an additional $394 million for upgrades and modifications.
Whats missing? A replacement for the replacement for the rapidly aging Kiowa Warrior fleet. The Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program was terminated in October 2008. Since then, the Army has been buried waist-deep in studies meant to pave the way for a new Armed Aerial Scout (AAS). The name change from ARH to AAS stems from the Armys desire to disassociate from the word helicopter, since the service decided to examine all possibilities for armed reconnaissance, including an unmanned or optionally manned platform.
But the studies have yet to be completed. The analysis of alternatives (AOA) that will eventually lead the way to an actual competition for an AAS will not be finished until April 2011, according to a Pentagon budget official.
(Excerpt) Read more at aviationweek.com ...
Total surrender again
I agree.
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The military begins its new mission, joining NOAA, NASA, and the CIA in protecting America against that all pervasive evil: AGW.
Look at the lessons of history, when a great power stops investing in its navy, decline is sure to follow.
Can’t be wasting good money on space and military when there are votes out there that need buyin’.
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