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.
Vertical Flight
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)
October 9, 2018
Sikorsky confirmed today it will not protest the Air Force's decision to replace the Bell UH-1N Huey with Boeing and Leonardo Helicopter's MH-139, likely freeing the service to move ahead with the long-awaited procurement.
September 28, 2018
The Navy is moving "as fast as [it] can" on the CMV-22 Osprey program and cannot increase its speed, according to the Navy's top air warfare requirements officer.
September 24, 2018
Boeing and Leonardo Helicopter's MH-139 will become the next helicopter to patrol intercontinental ballistic missile fields, beating out two other bids to replace the Vietnam-era Bell UH-1N Hueys that have become a symbol of slow acquisition woes.
September 7, 2018
The Army has been paying out three-year bonuses as an incentive to retain experienced pilots, according to the service's aviation head.
August 24, 2018
The Army will soon issue a solicitation for Future Attack Recon Aircraft concept designs, according to a service program manager.
August 17, 2018
The Marine Corps expects to receive the last delivery of its AH-1Z Viper by early 2022, according to the manager of the Light/Attack Helicopter Program.
August 16, 2018
The Air Force will maintain its plan to field new Combat Rescue Helicopters starting in fiscal year 2020 despite looming problems for training reserve squadrons, because changing the schedule would require renegotiating its contract with Sikorsky, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
August 10, 2018
Squadron commanders in the Marine Corps failed to appropriately disclose the readiness of their aircraft due to uncertain standards and a lack of oversight, the Defense Department inspector general has found.
July 26, 2018
With big promises from the Army, Congress wants questions answered on the service's Future Vertical Lift and Mobile Protected Firepower programs.
July 26, 2018
With big promises from the Army, Congress wants questions answered on some of the service's Future Vertical Lift and Mobile Protected Firepower programs.
July 20, 2018
Air National Guard pilots need three more Sikorsky HH-60G search-and-rescue helicopters to meet their combat and homeland-security mission requirements, the Air Force said in a June report to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
July 16, 2018
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.