Vertical Flight

With big promises from the Army, Congress wants questions answered on some of the service's Future Vertical Lift and Mobile Protected Firepower programs.

The Air Force will delay the contract award in the UH-1N Huey replacement program for at least a year if Congress doesn't authorize an $83.4 million infusion to keep the effort on track, according to a copy of the Defense Department's June omnibus reprogramming request obtained by Inside Defense this week.

Senate authorizers want the Navy to explore creating a derivative of the Marine Corps' new heavy-lift helicopter to provide capabilities lost when the Navy's MH-53E Sea Dragons retire, according to the report accompanying the committee's version of the fiscal year 2019 defense policy bill.

The Pentagon's independent cost estimate office projects the Air Force's Combat Rescue Helicopter will cost up to $9.2 billion, 3 percent more than the service's cost position of $8.9 billion, according to a recent Defense Department report on the military's 30-year aviation outlook.

The Government Accountability Office this week denied parts of Sikorsky's challenge to how the Air Force handles data rights in the UH-1N Huey replacement program, and dismissed other points because they were raised too early or late in the competition.

As new aircraft come online like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, CH-53K King Stallion and a slew of unmanned aerial systems, the Marine Corps is revising its maintenance qualification standards to make the transition easier for mechanics and other personnel.

NASHVILLE, TN -- The Defense Department's funding boost in fiscal year 2018 has provided "tremendous help" to Army aviation, enabling the service to accelerate its modernization plans, according to an official.

The Pentagon says the recent spate of aviation crashes being investigated by the military service branches is "not a crisis" that requires a department-wide review, despite rumblings from Capitol Hill that a more holistic investigation is necessary.

NASHVILLE, TN -- The two companies vying to replace the engine in the Army's AH-64 and H-60 aircraft are awaiting direction from the service to proceed to the next phase of the competition.