Whoever loses the US presidential helicopter competition is bound to feel betrayed. There would be much to gain from a split decision
Picking the US president's next helicopter is like doing something to offend either a friend or relative. Reasoning is irrelevant: someone is left feeling not just disappointed, but betrayed as well.
The US Navy, with guidance from the US Department of Defense leadership, is now in the unenviable role of choosing, perhaps later this week, between the Sikorsky VH-92, with its "All-American" marketing anthem, and the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland/Bell Helicopter US101, which is championed by two of the US president's dearest foreign allies - the UK and Italy.
The task is made unenviable by a misstep in the USN's acquisition strategy and - if the US101 bid fails - in the Lockheed Martin-led team's pursuit of the prized VXX contract award.
Without any public objection by the US101 team, USN acquisition officials, as the source selection authority, appear to be poised to make an ill-advised all-or-nothing contract award to one of the two competing teams, each one of which is backed by powerful constituencies.
No matter who wins, the loser is not likely to accept the result as merely the outcome of a fair and competitive bidding process, but as a politically motivated give-away to their rival. The USN gains a new airframe in its helicopter inventory - and a likely backlash from a wounded political faction.
The USN would do well to reconsider a winner-takes-all approach and employ the wisdom of Solomon - or, exhibited more recently, of EADS North America chief executive Ralph Crosby - and split the contract. Let both the VH-92 and US101 claim a share of the next-generation presidential fleet - just as Crosby's business unit is pushing the US Air Force to split a potential order next year for a new air refuelling fleet.
Why? Dividing the spoils between the two presidential helicopter contenders may be viewed as a cop-out to meddling political forces, but it shouldn't be. It is arguable that there are also practical advantages to buying and operating a mixed fleet of aircraft for the VXX mission.
The evidence is easy to find. Just consider the current make-up of the presidential helicopter fleet. Today's "Marine One" fleet actually relies on two aircraft types - the Sikorsky VH-3D for domestic flights and the more deployable VH-60N for overseas travel.
It is true that operations and maintenance costs to support two types of aircraft would be higher, but - with only a handful of aircraft being ordered - the difference should still be practically invisible within the US military's annual operations budget. In any event, operating costs are not likely to be seen as a significant factor in the USN's deliberations, or the triple-turbined US101 would be severely disadvantaged already next to the twin-engined VH-92.
Despite the heated rhetoric of the VXX rivals, it is unfair to make comparisons between the aircraft as they are so distinctly different. The 2,720kg (6,000lb) gap in the publicly listed maximum take-off weights of the baseline EH101 and S-92 is as great as the chasm between the S-92 and the Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk, which no-one should argue are comparable.
A mixed fleet for the presidential mission would allow each aircraft to specialise in different missions, much like the VH-3D and VH-60N fill niche roles today.
Fundamentally, however, the US military market is still inexperienced with the political - and surprisingly emotional - pressure in a high-profile competition between a US-made product and an alternative with a foreign heritage. It is not yet clear if the Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet victory in the relatively unnoticed Aerial Common Sensor award by the US Army last year is a one-off fluke, or a watershed moment for international industry in the traditionally closed US military market. The VXX award should offer a clearer signal, with several US procurement contests featuring international bidders waiting to follow.
It is in this context that Crosby is seeking to secure for EADS only a slice of a looming, blockbuster deal for a new fleet of USAF aerial refuellers with the proposed Airbus KC-330, conceding perhaps the bulk of the order to the rival Boeing 767-200 bid. Crosby's proposal, first uttered in November, is a good indication that the strategists at EADS do not believe the time is yet ripe for an overseas bidder to claim sole possession of a prestigious US military contract.
Source: Flight International
