HH-60W Jolly Green IIs assigned to the 41st Rescue Squadron fly to Moody Air Force Base Nov. 5, 2020, near Jupiter, Florida. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Hayden Legg)
UPDATED 8/10/23 at 11:26 AM with comment from Lockheed Martin.
DAYTON, Ohio — After lengthy negotiations with the two aerospace giants, the Air Force has secured agreements from Lockheed Martin and Boeing to obtain technical data packages (TDPs) for two new helicopters, according to service officials.
Speaking during the Life Cycle Industry Days conference here on August 1, Air Force HH-60W program manager Tracy Patrick and MH-139A program lead Lt. Col. Jacob Debevec both stated that negotiations over TDPs for the respective aircraft have been successful, with data set to be delivered in months.
“There are no more impasses. We’ve agreed on what’s going to be delivered,” said Patrick, who added that officials are currently “wrapping up all the agreements in a contract” modification this month and that the data would be delivered in stages over the next year.
“We are working closely with the Air Force to meet their CSAR [combat search and rescue] mission requirements to field and sustain the DoD’s only dedicated CSAR helicopter, and are committed to providing the most capable platform to Air Force crews who perform the most challenging of missions to bring our service men and women home safely,” a Lockheed spokesperson said in a statement. (Lockheed subsidiary Sikorsky builds the HH-60W.)
Debevec similarly said the Air Force expects that TDPs for the MH-139A will be sent “in tranches over the next several months.” Boeing, which manufactures the MH-139A, referred Breaking Defense to the Air Force when asked for comment.
Technical data packages are the essential information, such as design drawings, for building and sustaining weapon systems, which when in the hands of the Pentagon can facilitate more service-led maintenance or greater competition for sustainment contracts. The data packages themselves are often closely held by companies, with negotiations typically centering on the scope of information to provide.
Securing those TDPs have proved a sticking point for both the HH-60W Jolly Green II and MH-139A Grey Wolf. The Jolly Green II is tasked with combat rescue missions, though its final fleet size has been cut over performance concerns in the Indo-Pacific, whereas the Grey Wolf is primarily responsible for patrolling nuclear silos and transporting high-ranking officials.
Boeing has previously been penalized over Grey Wolf data sharing, according to a Government Accountability Office report last year that said the Air Force had withheld 10 percent of progress payments due to that impasse. At the time a Boeing exec said the company had been “extremely transparent” with the service.
The Grey Wolf is undergoing developmental testing following a production decision approved in March. The Jolly Green II is now in full-rate production, according to Air Force Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance & Special Operations Forces Col. Joshua Williams, who said the milestone was achieved in April.
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