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.
Vertical Flight
May 30, 2018
The Air Force is delaying its contract award for the UH-1N Huey replacement program until the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018, after previously planning to select a new helicopter by early summer.
May 24, 2018
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.
May 21, 2018
The Navy is seeking information from industry to support an externally mounted gun system demonstration on an MH-60S aircraft, according to a Federal Business Opportunities notice.
May 14, 2018
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.
May 9, 2018
NASHVILLE, TN -- The Army is weighing the possibility of boosting CH-47 Chinook force structure to support the requirements of the 101st Airborne Division.
May 8, 2018
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.
May 4, 2018
The Air Force's two ongoing helicopter acquisitions are having trouble finding skilled workers to staff those programs as they ramp up, according to the Government Accountability Office's annual analysis of major weapon systems.
May 3, 2018
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.
April 27, 2018
The Army's Future Vertical Lift program has drawn lawmakers' attention as an immediate aid to providing aviation overmatch and a solution to combating "more dangerous" mid-term threats.
April 27, 2018
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.
April 27, 2018
NASHVILLE, TN -- The Army's new project manager for Future Vertical Lift anticipates greater engagement with industry as the program progresses "as an industry-government partnership."
April 26, 2018
NASHVILLE, TN -- The Army’s existing aircraft are "the best in the world," but technological advances and a more complex future operational environment necessitate drastic changes, according to the service’s vice chief of staff.
April 18, 2018
Industry has begun staking out places in the Navy's helicopter trainer replacement program with two companies publicly announcing their offerings last week at the Sea-Air-Space symposium in National Harbor, MD.
April 9, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Funding instability has led to a slight schedule slip in requirements development for the first Future Vertical Lift aircraft, but the Army aims to regain ground where possible, according to the TRADOC capability manager for FVL.
April 3, 2018
The estimated cost for the Pentagon's major weapon system acquisition portfolio grew by $177 billion, or more than 10 percent, over the last year, swelling from $1.7 trillion to $1.9 trillion.
April 3, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Future Vertical Lift cross-functional team aims "to accelerate selected disruptive technologies" to enable Army aviation operations in a contested environment, over greater distances and through advanced teaming with unmanned aerial systems to "keep us viable in the air domain," according to its director.
April 3, 2018
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Army's aviation branch is "in a relatively healthy posture right now," thanks in part to congressional appropriations, but like the rest of the force is shifting its focus toward a potential near-peer adversary, according to the branch chief.
March 27, 2018
The Army's Future Vertical Lift cross-functional team is focused not only on replacements for the service's rotary aviation fleet, but on developing new unmanned aerial systems for "advanced teaming."
March 26, 2018
The Army on March 22 awarded Airbus $116.9 million for procurement of 16 UH-72 Lakota helicopters, according to a Defense Department announcement, obligating nearly $58.5 million in FY-16 funds at the time of the award.