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No New U.S. Navy, Army Helo Programs Funded
Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | 2/10/2010 | Bettina H. Chavanne

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.

What’s 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 Army’s 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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: blackhawk; defensespending; fy2011; helicopters; navair; qdr; rotorcraft; usarmy; usnavy

1 posted on 02/11/2010 1:38:12 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

Total surrender again


2 posted on 02/11/2010 2:10:38 AM PST by GeronL (Dignity is earned from yourself. Respect is earned from others.)
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To: GeronL

I agree.


3 posted on 02/11/2010 2:11:02 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Wernher Von Braun)
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To: Vroomfondel; SC Swamp Fox; Fred Hayek; NY Attitude; P3_Acoustic; Bean Counter; investigateworld; ...
SONOBUOY PING!

Click on pic for past Navair pings.

Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
The only requirement for inclusion in the Navair Pinglist is an interest in Naval Aviation.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.

4 posted on 02/11/2010 2:24:40 AM PST by magslinger (Cry MALAISE! and let slip the dogs of incompetence.)
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To: sonofstrangelove
The Quadrennial Defense Review report, which is meant to guide defense and military policies and weapons purchases, lists global warming and energy security as among the four most important security priorities, despite recent reports suggesting the science behind climate change has been skewed.
5 posted on 02/11/2010 2:29:24 AM PST by johniegrad
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To: johniegrad

The military begins its new mission, joining NOAA, NASA, and the CIA in protecting America against that all pervasive evil: AGW.


6 posted on 02/11/2010 3:25:48 AM PST by PIF
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To: sonofstrangelove

Look at the lessons of history, when a great power stops investing in its navy, decline is sure to follow.


7 posted on 02/11/2010 3:37:52 AM PST by DeusExMachina05 (I will not go into Dhimmitude quietly.)
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To: sonofstrangelove
Why bother with new helicopter programs? Just keep updating your existing helicopters with new rotors and engines, like the Marines did with their UH-1Y and AH-1Z. (The only danger is running out of letters for the designation suffix.)


8 posted on 02/11/2010 4:27:38 AM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Can’t be wasting good money on space and military when there are votes out there that need buyin’.


9 posted on 02/11/2010 5:36:38 AM PST by CPOSharky ("Obama the Timid. " Pass it on.)
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To: sonofstrangelove
I have no problem with this. Are we really going to build a better chopper than the Blackhawk? No. We'd just be reinventing the wheel, only with a bigger pricetag. Revolutionary is out. Evolutionary is in. Instead of designing new systems from the ground up, improve on the current designs. Sikorsky's Superhawk is the perfect example of this evolutionary philosophy.
10 posted on 02/11/2010 10:12:34 PM PST by DesScorp
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