Pentagon drops another troubled Army helicopter program

Citing steep cost overruns, the Pentagon announced late Thursday it was canceling the troubled Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program, forcing Army officials to move quickly to find an alternative.

Termination of the Bell Helicopter Textron aircraft, the successor to the failed Comanche reconnaissance and attack helicopter, will force the Army to keep its aging fleet of OH-58D Kiowa Warriors flying far longer than anticipated. The Kiowas have logged more than 2.6 million flight hours during operations overseas since 2003.

Lt. Gen. James Thurman, director of Army operations, said Friday that the requirement for a new armed reconnaissance helicopter has not changed.

"My job is to get the requirement revalidated as quickly as possible," he said. Thurman noted that the service will have to invest heavily in the Kiowas to ensure "our air crews and commanders continue to have the best capability possible to perform the mission."

In 2005, the Army awarded a $2.2 billion contract to the Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter to build 368 ARHs, a program that was born out of the demise of the Comanche the year before. But cost overruns triggered a congressionally mandated review. Defense Department officials have estimated that the price tag per helicopter jumped from $8.6 million to $14.5 million, while the delivery schedule for the first aircraft went from 2009 to 2013.

"Rather than continue this program, I have decided that the best course of action is to provide the Army with an opportunity to define a coherent, disciplined Kiowa Warrior helicopter replacement program, and to obtain more rigorous contract terms for its development," John Young, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, said in a statement Thursday night. Army Secretary Pete Geren, a former member of Congress from Fort Worth, said "the cost and schedule that were the focus of the decision to award the contract to Bell Helicopter are no longer valid." Other Army officials agreed with the cancellation decision.

Lawmakers, who have been increasingly weary of the ARH program, cut $197 million from the Defense Department's $574.6 million total request for the program for fiscal 2009. Congress also added $42 million to the Kiowa program for safety enhancements. Defense sources tracking the program said they expect to see much of the money tagged for ARH this year to be shifted to OH-58D modernization efforts. In a statement, Bell Helicopter said it will "continue to work closely with the U.S. Army to support the Kiowa Warrior." Army officials acknowledged last week that they were weighing alternatives to the ARH, but declined to comment on other aircraft suitable for the mission.

Citing interest by "several potential customers," Bell Helicopter rival Boeing Co. announced Oct. 7 during the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference that it was reviving its AH-6 light attack/reconnaissance helicopter. Boeing had offered that aircraft in the ARH contract competition won by Bell Helicopter. "We believe this system is a perfect fit for those customers seeking long endurance, proven performance and 2,000-pound payload within an affordable helicopter," Dave Palm, director of Boeing's rotorcraft business development, said in a statement.