Boeing, Lockheed Submit UH-1N Replacement Bids

Boeing, Lockheed Submit UH-1N Replacement Bids
Boeing, Lockheed Submit UH-1N Replacement Bids

ABOVE DULLES AIRPORT: Eager to get out its message that the Boeing-Leonardo MH-139 helicopter would save the US taxpayer $1 billion as the replacement of the UH-1N helicopter, Boeing flew several journalists this afternoon to demonstrate its capabilities. (Boeing’s Rick Lemaster makes the case in our video above). Boeing also delivered nine boxes to the…

Sikorsky Unveils HH-60U For Air Force Nuke Response

Sikorsky Unveils HH-60U For Air Force Nuke Response
Sikorsky Unveils HH-60U For Air Force Nuke Response

CORRECTED: Passenger Capacity WASHINGTON: The day before the Air Force Association’s annual winter conference begins, the newest wrinkle in the years-long saga of deciding what aircraft the Air Force would buy to secure America’s nuclear missile fields was announced. Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky will offer — surprise! — an updated version of the Black Hawk helicopter, the HH-60U.…

Air Force Abandons Sole Source Nuke Helos Deal

Air Force Abandons Sole Source Nuke Helos Deal
Air Force Abandons Sole Source Nuke Helos Deal

With legislators demanding open competition for new helicopters to carry security teams to far-flung missile silos in an emergency, the Air Force has bowed to congressional pressure. Sikorsky had been hopeful of a $1.4 billion sole-source deal to replace the aging UH-1N helicopters, whose poor performance in counterterrorism drills had the Air Force saying it needed to bypass…

Armed Aerial Scout Helicopter: To Be Or Not To Be?

WASHINGTON: Reports that the Army has finally figured out whether the Hamlet of aircraft programs, Armed Aerial Scout, should be or not be are greatly exaggerated. Army aviation acquisition officials have looked at what birds in hand industry can offer to replace the service’s aging OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters and have decided they’d prefer…

Beyond BAE-EADS: What’s Next? Who’s Vulnerable?

[Corrected at 4:50 pm to fix misquotation; see note below] With today’s spectacular but not unanticipated collapse of the mega-merger between Airbus parent company EADS and British armsmaker BAE, what’s next? The conventional wisdom is that BAE, the smaller of the two firms, is now vulnerable. But top analysts tell Breaking Defense that, in many…

Why Air Force Won’t Buy Nuke Mission CVLSP Helos — For A While

ORLANDO: The nation doesn’t need to rush out and buy the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform, designed to rush troops to nuclear sites or to evacuate senior lawmakers in event of a strike against the capital, because security at missile and other facilities has improved. And there’s not much money around to buy it with.…