The Army has begun the second phase of an analysis of alternatives to the Armed Aerial Scout helicopter effort following a decision to proceed with a manned-unmanned capability requirement, according to service officials.

The prioritization of deployed V-22s in Afghanistan has improved availability rates to the point that it is generally near around 70 percent, but resulting low availability for non-deployed V-22s brings the entire fleet down into the 50th percentile range, according to Col. Greg Masiello, V-22 program manager.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren is asking industry for information about towing sensor arrays via helicopter.

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA -- Launching a full and open competition for new Air Force combat search-and-rescue helicopters would delay the choppers' fielding date at least two years, according to service officials.

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA -- The lack of reliable HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters at bases in the United States and constant deployments to Southwest Asia are keeping the Air Force from training crews on the full gamut of combat search-and-rescue missions, according to service officials.

The Afghan National Air Force, with support from U.S. and coalition air advisers, plans to arm a number of its Mi-17 helicopters with a wide range of air-to-surface weapons as a way to bolster the air force's ability to execute close air support operations, Inside the Air Force has learned.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $260 million follow-on production contract for the Arrowhead system, a modernized sensor for the Army's fleet of AH-64D Apache helicopters.

The Marine Corps' response to apocalyptic flooding in Pakistan is not putting a strain on other operations in the region yet, but the number of helicopters being used in the relief operation is eventually going to boost the service's reset bill down the road, according to the director of operations at Marine Corps headquarters.

The all-quadrant belly-mounted gun system deployed to Afghanistan with the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor has seen limited use in theater due to the sacrifices in space commanders have to make to use them, so the Marines are developing a more integrated system that wouldn't make them choose between the two, officials told Inside the Navy recently.

The Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement could acquire another test bed, possibly an H-60, if the current UH-1N helicopter can't handle all the incoming projects, Brad Schieferdecker, NACRA associate director for technology development, told Inside the Navy recently.

While the Marine Corps is not looking to expand beyond the one squadron of nine UH-1Y utility helicopters it operates in Afghanistan, the possibility of more has been discussed, Marine Lt. Gen. George Trautman, deputy commandant of aviation, told Inside the Navy recently.

The Air Force is looking at options for how it will install critical combat search-and-rescue equipment in the new Sikorsky H-60M it is buying to bring the existing fleet up to its 112 aircraft requirement, according to documents reviewed by Inside the Air Force.

The Marine Corps will retire the CH-53D medium-lift helicopter at least two years earlier than planned due to the age of the aircraft and the savings that could come from not having to sustain it as the V-22 Osprey replaces it later this decade, Lt. Gen. George Trautman, deputy commandant for aviation, said last week.

The Pentagon's No. 2 military official has signed off on the Air Force's HH-60 Recapitalization program requirements, which are significantly scaled back from parameters issued by the service earlier this year, Inside the Air Force has learned.

The Pentagon's fiscal year 2010 omnibus reprogramming request asks Congress to increase Army aviation procurement and research, development, test and evaluation funding to bolster the service's aerial fleet.

The Marines may consider acquiring a light-attack aircraft for "filling in the mission seams" between the Joint Strike Fighter, the V-22 Osprey and rotary aircraft, specifically for missions such as escorting assault aircraft, point resupply and medical evacuation, according to the latest Marine Corps Operating Concepts.

The Army is considering increasing its procurement of Lakota Light Utility helicopters beyond the 345 aircraft on contract through 2015, according to a service official.

The Navy faces a rotorcraft gap of potentially hundreds of aircraft in about 20 years if the service does not formulate plans soon to deal with it, according to Naval Air Systems Command briefing slides obtained by Inside the Navy.

While the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle won't be available for the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory's Limited Objective Experiment 4 in Hawaii later this month, the lab's director says that it will adjust their use of legacy amphibious platforms to reflect EFV-like operation profiles.

A Navy program is examining the possibility of using advanced infrared sensors to create a 360-degree view for helicopter pilots that would cut through dust and dirt kicked up by rotor blades and help them deal with the problem of "brownouts," a top cause of helicopter crashes in Iraq and Afghanistan.