Army Retreats on Another Helicopter Program

BUDGET MATTERS: Army Retreats on Another Helicopter Program

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Just when the Army seemed to be turning a corner on its habit of sinking billions into questionable weapons programs, it slipped. In a Thursday evening news dump Feb. 8, the service announced it was killing the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program after investing $2.4 billion in the latest effort to develop a new scout helicopter.

The Army’s announcement scrapping the fourth program intended to replace the Bell OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter the service retired about a decade ago stated: “In reviewing the FARA program in light of new technological developments, battlefield developments and current budget projections, Army leaders assessed that the increased capabilities it offered could be more affordably and effectively achieved by relying on a mix of enduring, unmanned and space-based assets.”

There was plenty of chatter for years that “enduring, unmanned and space-based assets” could be a better solution. National Defense reported in 2014 that Army leaders were kicking around the idea of turning to unmanned systems instead of fielding a new helicopter.

The $2.4 billion flameout is bad enough, but it follows three other failed efforts to field a Kiowa replacement: the 2004 cancellation of the Comanche helicopter program after $9 billion invested, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program that was scrapped in 2008 and the Armed Aerial Scout program which was canceled in 2013.

In March 2020, the Army downselected Bell’s 360 Invictus and Sikorsky’s Raider X with a flyoff expected in 2023. However, delays to both prototypes, and more critically the General Electric Aerospace T901 engine — pushed that to late 2024 at the earliest.

The FARA flop comes after a string of acquisition successes for the Army. As National Defense reported in October, the Army was largely successful in its “24-by-23” initiative, launched by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville in 2021. The goal was to have “24 signature systems in the hands of soldiers through fielding or testing in fiscal year ’23,” he said in 2022.

For the most part, the service delivered using Other Transaction Authority, Middle Tier of Acquisition and other agile pathways to deliver platforms faster than the traditional processes could.

Some of the successes include the Next Generation Squad Weapon, the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.

Yet, FARA didn’t follow that path. In many ways, the question isn’t why the Army canceled FARA, it’s why it took so long to cancel it amid all the delays — many brought on by COVID-19 and Congress’ inability to pass budgets on time — and the general skepticism about the need for the new helicopter.

The “good news” aspect of the story is the Army will avoid further costs on FARA and redirect the money to other priorities, such as the UH-60M Black Hawk variant and the CH-47F Block II Chinook.

“Without reprioritizing funds in its constrained aviation portfolio, the Army faced the unacceptable risk of decline and closure of production and sustainment lines for the Chinook and Black Hawk fleets,” the release stated. “The Army’s new plan will renew and extend production of both aircraft, while also sustaining the experienced workforce and vendor base that underpin the Army’s aviation capabilities.”

Ray Jaworowski, senior aerospace analyst at Forecast International, in an email said: “Cancellation of FARA is undoubtedly a blow to industry, particularly as it comes at a time when widespread concerns exist about the defense industrial base.

“The Army is ameliorating some of the impact of the decision, however, with the announcement of its decision to proceed” with the investments in the Block II Chinook and the UH-60M Black Hawk, he added.

The FARA cancellation is the second big hit for Sikorsky, which lost the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, competition to Bell Textron’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor submission in late 2022.

According to a Sikorsky official speaking on background, the company is looking at international options for its X2 coaxial rotorcraft, which the company has spent $1 billion and 15 years developing. In February, NATO awarded Sikorsky a contract to inform the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability program through the vendor’s open systems architecture concept, the company official said.

Bell did not provide details of its investments or potential losses from the cancellation, and simply said in an official statement it was disappointed by the decision. “Bell remains confident in our ready-to-test FARA prototype for the Army’s requirements. We will apply the knowledge and demonstrated successes of our FARA development efforts on future aircraft,” the statement said.

Jaworowski said Bell should be fine because of the FLRAA contract.

“Bell has a very strong presence in the civil market but — prior to the FLRAA award — had been faced with a dwindling position in the military market as production declined of the V-22 and the AH-1/UH-1 helicopter series. Cancellation of FARA does represent a lost opportunity, however,” he said.

“However, the ramifications for Sikorsky of the FARA cancellation should not be overstated,” he added. But it’s not all doom and gloom as the company will continue producing the popular Black Hawk “into the early 2030s, as the service’s UH-60M acquisition is completed,” he said, adding Sikorsky, which seemed to be the favored candidate for FARA, will likely find a market somewhere for its X2 technology.

So, the vendors will likely land on their feet, but taxpayers are out another $2.4 billion, and the Army is out a lot of time, energy and money it could have put to better use. ND

Topics: Army News