In a show of strict commitment to the Army's six modernization priorities, the service is ending the next-generation Block II upgrade program for the Chinook cargo helicopter after fiscal year 2020, according to the service's under secretary.
Vertical Flight
March 15, 2019
The Army's $182.3 billion fiscal year 2020 budget request would advance key service priorities through new research and development projects, including funding for contract awards supporting the Next Generation Combat Vehicle program and completion of the initial design phase for a major helicopter replacement program.
March 12, 2019
The Army's $182.3 billion fiscal year 2020 budget request would advance key service priorities through new research and development projects, including funding for contract awards supporting the Next Generation Combat Vehicle program and completion of the initial design phase for a major helicopter replacement program.
February 20, 2019
The Combat Rescue Helicopter program office is aiming for a September 2019 milestone C decision, despite concerns from the Pentagon’s senior weapons tester.
February 19, 2019
Advanced Turbine Engine Co. said today it has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office against the Army's award to General Electric Aviation for the Improved Turbine Engine Program, intended to replace the engines in the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
February 5, 2019
The Pentagon's effort to modernize the Afghan Air Force with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters may lack trained pilots and maintenance personnel to operate the new aircraft, according to a bi-annual report submitted to Congress.
February 4, 2019
The Pentagon's top weapons tester is recommending the Combat Rescue Helicopter program office adjust its schedule to allow for flight testing in an "operationally representative configuration."
February 1, 2019
Neither Boeing nor Lockheed Martin will compete to build the Navy's next training helicopter, company spokeswomen told Inside Defense this week following the request for proposals' publication.
January 23, 2019
The Navy spent $1.4 billion on backup helicopters "it did not need" until fiscal year 2020, and will spend $2 million annually to store those aircraft as a result of requirements offices not informing one another of schedule changes, according to a new government watchdog report.
January 22, 2019
The Air Force has formally established a $3.8 billion cost estimate for the UH-1N replacement program -- a price tag that is 65 percent higher than the $2.3 billion contract award announced in September when the service picked Boeing to build a fleet of MH-139 utility helicopters.
December 18, 2018
Vendors competing in the Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program expect the service to downselect to one design in early 2019.
December 13, 2018
The first flight of Bell-Sikorsky’s proposed aircraft for the Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator has again been delayed, this time until early 2019, as representatives say it requires more testing.
December 11, 2018
The Navy has deemed a theoretical "MH-53K King Dragon" helicopter as "not practical," estimating procuring such a platform could cost up to $7.6 billion in 2014 constant-year dollars for 48 aircraft, while developing and testing the aircraft could run $2.6 billion, according to documents viewed by Inside the Navy.
November 8, 2018
Intercontinental ballistic missile bases in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming will receive new MH-139 helicopters from fiscal year 2021 through FY-27, as the Air Force looks for ways to mature the fleet faster.
November 8, 2018
Intercontinental ballistic missile bases in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming will receive new MH-139 helicopters from fiscal year 2021 through FY-27, as the Air Force looks for ways to mature the fleet faster.
November 1, 2018
The Navy is working with Congress to develop a strategy for retiring its legacy mine countermeasures platforms, a challenge requiring more nuance than what current congressional direction allows, according to a Marine Corps general overseeing that strategy.
October 30, 2018
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working closely with the Army on a program to partially automate aircraft and has planned a demonstration in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter next year, according to the project's program manager.
October 19, 2018
The Air Force's contract with Boeing to develop and field a new MH-139 utility helicopter fleet allocates $408 million for development and $1.9 billion for procurement, a price tag that is roughly half the estimated total program cost the service forecasted in budget documents for the UH-1N Huey replacement program earlier this year.
October 19, 2018
The Army is speeding up the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program thanks to lessons learned from the success of its Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator effort, according to the director of the Future Vertical Lift cross-functional team.
October 9, 2018
Sikorsky and Sierra Nevada Corp. confirmed today they will not protest the Air Force's decision to replace the Bell UH-1N Huey with Boeing and Leonardo Helicopter's MH-139, freeing the service to move ahead with the long-awaited procurement. (UPDATED)