THE US CONGRESS favours increased funding for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, with the House National Security Committee (NSC) boosting the fiscal year 1996 Comanche budget by $100 million, and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) adding $174 million to the Pentagon request.
The US Army wants 1,292 RAH-66s, but budget cuts will delay initial fielding of eight aircraft to 2006, a three-year slip. The production decision is not due until 2004.
The House NSC says that the US Army should advance the fielding of an early prototype RAH-66. It recommends that the Pentagon give the project a "higher priority". The SASC directed the Pentagon to come up with a plan to provide for procurement, starting by FY2001.
Brig Gen James Snider, the Comanche programme manager, says that the extra funding would go towards accelerating development of the mission-equipment package (MEP), and restarting work on the integrated communications navigation-identification avionics.
Snider says that it is not enough to advance initial Comanche fielding. The US Army will build two prototypes and six "early operational capability" aircraft for airframe, MEP evaluation and early field trials.
Source: Flight International
