Vertical Flight

BOGUE, NC -- The Marine Corps recently took a crucial step aimed at readying the service to execute larger air assaults in potential future military operations.

Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Reform national security subcommittee are expressing concern about the number of U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers who go absent without official leave, as described in recent reports by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko.

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee is seeking to restrict funding for the Marine Corps' new heavy-lift helicopter program until the Navy briefs the full committee.

House authorizers are considering the option to cut the Chinook Block II upgrade program gradually, instead of canceling it after fiscal year 2020 as the Army has proposed, according to a key lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee.

The House Appropriations Committee is recommending the Navy procure four additional V-22 Ospreys in fiscal year 2020.

Sikorsky's Combat Rescue Helicopter -- the Air Force's replacement to its legacy Pave Hawk fleet -- achieved its first flight today at a company facility in West Palm Beach, FL.

Sikorsky at its West Palm Beach, FL, test site next week will host the first flight of a Black Hawk helicopter retrofitted with a new artificial intelligence "co-piloting" software, as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program.

The Army has chosen five vendors to build prototypes for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competition, the service announced today.

NASHVILLE, TN -- Army National Guard units will be among the first to receive the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, named the No. 2 priority of the Future Vertical Lift effort, according to the service's vice chief of staff.