The US Army is seeking to advance funding for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche by diverting $1 billion from procurement into near-term systems development. The army is hoping to free up the money by accelerating full-rate production of the armed scout and generating long-term savings.
Following reports of a two-year delay, the US Army has reaffirmed plans to field six to eight RAH-66s in December 2006. This, however, is for initial training rather than an initial operational capability. The latter follows two years later.
"The terms we use have become a bit clouded," says Col Stephen Mundt, chief Army Aviation Division, Force Development. "The first aircraft will form a company and be used to develop tactics, techniques and procedures and that date is still on. The first unit equipped in army vernacular has always been battalion size and that was never intended to be fielded before 2008," he adds.
At issue is initial RAH-66 capability. The programme is 4% over budget and 8% behind schedule, with 15% of engineering and manufacturing development complete. The shortfall includes key systems, such as the TRW Integrated Communications Navigation and Identification system (ICNIA). This will simultaneously connect to a host of voice and data networks.
The army and the Joint Strike Fighter were sharing non-recurring ICNIAfunding, but JSFdelays mean the army either has to take the lead or postpone the introduction of Comanche. Also missing from RAH-66 in 2006 will be the Longbow radar and some weapon systems. "If you do nothing to the programme today, we'll have six to eight helicopters guaranteed. The question is how much of the mission equipment package they will come with," says Mundt.
The army says the answer is to pump an extra $1 billion into the $8.25 billion research, development, testing and evaluation programme. As part of this proposal, full-rate production, due to begin in 2006, would be increased from the 62 machines a year to 96. Completing the planned buy of 1,213 helicopters sooner would save five years and $3 billion.
Source: Flight International
