Vertical Flight

Air Force Global Strike Command activated Detachment 7 on Wednesday to ensure a fast developmental and operational testing schedule for the service’s four new MH-139As -- the Huey replacement helicopters that will provide security and transportation for the service's intercontinental ballistic missile mission.

The Army is developing a "digital backbone" for its aircraft while modernizing the current fleet, according to the program executive officer for aviation.

Boeing is on track with its current CH-47 Block ll foreign military sales and is adding new countries to its portfolio, according to company executives.

Once marred by technical deficiencies that led to a schedule adjustment, the Air Force's multibillion-dollar Combat Rescue Helicopter program is on track for a decision to approve low-rate initial production during a meeting at the end of the month.

Replicating platforms accurately in simulations remains one of the biggest challenges for the Army, according to a service official.

If Congress does not approve a reprogramming request sent by the Army, the service's aviation training could suffer, according to an official.

With the Navy's final order for multimission MH-60R helicopters recently placed, Lockheed Martin now expects orders from foreign customers for the anti-surface and submarine-hunting aircraft to keep the production line going for at least another two years, according to a company official.

The Navy intends to award a contract in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 for the ground-based training system (GBTS) associated with its new training helicopter, the TH-XX, according to industry day slides.

The Marine Corps is working to get its delayed heavy-lift helicopter back on schedule after reformatting the program to address a host of technical deficiencies.