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2011 Budget Boosts Rotary Wing

By Greg Grant Friday, January 29th, 2010 9:59 am
Posted in Air, Land, Naval, Policy

Last month, at an Army aviation symposium in Washington, D.C., the commanding general of the service’s aviation branch, Maj. Gen. James Myles, said that the war in Afghanistan is America’s third “helicopter war”; the wars in Vietnam and Iraq being the first two. Vietnam veterans flew over 12 million hours in helicopters; so far, in Iraq and Afghanistan, helicopter pilots have flown 3 million hours, he said.

Since the military is in the midst of another helicopter war, it’s no surprise that the 2011 defense budget and the quadrennial defense review (QDR) call for big increases in the rotary wing fleet across the services. According to a draft overview of DOD’s 2011 budget request obtained by Defense News, the military will ask Congress for $9.6 billion to buy new rotary wing aircraft. The list includes:

• $1.4 billion for Army UH-60 Black Hawks.
• $1.2 billion for Army CH-47 Chinooks.
• $2.7 billion for V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
• $1.7 billion MH-60R/S Seahawks for the Navy.

The budget also proposes that the Army add two combat aviation brigades (CAB) by combining existing helicopters to create a 12th active duty CAB in 2011 and then another in 2013. According to the Army’s top operations officer, Lt. Gen. James Thurman, the new CAB requires the Army add 700 additional soldiers to fill out the brigade’s assault helicopter battalion and support units.

The Army is also boosting the number of medevac helicopters and plans to send a newly formed 15 aircraft medevac company to Afghanistan by the spring. More Kiowa Warrior helicopters and Shadow aerial drones are being added to the CABs to beef up their reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, he said.

The Army has 2 CABs (246 total aircraft) currently flying missions in Afghanistan and another 3 (643 total aircraft) still operating in Iraq, Myles said. He expected that Afghan theater commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal would soon request at least two more CABs, one to operate up north in Mazar-e-Sharif and another out west in Herat.

A draft version of the QDR, (the official version is due to be released Monday) calls for Special Operations Command to field an additional company of cargo helicopters and directs the Navy to dedicate two helicopter squadrons for direct support to Naval Special Warfare units. The document also urges the services to provide more pilot training so as “to make selected vertical lift assets more readily accessible to forces in forward theaters of operations.”

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	William C. January 31st, 2010 at 12:07 am No word on a OH-58 replacement however.
	BOOMER February 1st, 2010 at 8:19 am They should bring back the HUEY, it got the job done, low cost , dependable, easy to fly.
	TMB February 1st, 2010 at 2:18 pm The Marine Corps never gave it up.
	BOOMER February 1st, 2010 at 10:24 am The MARINES are a hold over from the if it aint broke dont fix it days, They are very picky how they spend thier limited funds and hold contractors by the throat if they dont deliver, which is why contractors are enjoying the new joint purchase programs dealing through the Army and not having to deal directly with the MARINES.
	William C. February 1st, 2010 at 4:02 pm The Blackhawk is an excellent helicopter and in my opinion has proven itself a most worthy successor to the Huey. Not that costly either until you start slapping FLIR and all sorts of other sensors on it. No need for the Army to go back. The UH-1Y the Marine Corps is using is practically a whole new chopper compared to the early UH-1s.
	BOOMER February 1st, 2010 at 2:44 pm The blackhawk is indeed worthy, and better in ways. But the utilitarian aspect of the smaller and cheaper huey make it just as viable. The ARMY itself does still have HUEYS left as well, especialy among the guard and reserves ranks. If I could get more craft for the same amount of money concidering how many blackhawks we already have, I would go with the huey and put more birds in the air. But thats just a grunts point of view.
	Chris February 4th, 2010 at 1:48 pm I am with the Blackhawk folks on this one. While its very arguable that the UH-1 is the greatest helicopter of all time, the the more modern Blackhawk bests it many important ways — cargo capacity and maximum lift, crash worthiness and survivability, range, etc. The engineerings is at least 20 years superior. That being said, the Marines UH-1Y is an excellent aircraft mostly because of 3 reasons: big power upgrade in engines, its advanced 4 rotor main blades and massively upgraded avionics. Even this aircraft probably compares unfavorably to a late model UH-60. The Marines, however, have a powerful incentive to use the plane — they fly the AH-1Z Super Cobra and the two share massive amounts components included the aforementioned engines and rotors. Viewed from this light — with a Marines need for function and redundance — i think the UH-1Y is a grreat choice for them.
	Richard February 12th, 2010 at 2:22 am The Marines have a Great Super Cobra. The first time I seen a Cobra was in Vietnam when it first came out that was late 1967. It was A Great A/C. As for me I work on the Chinook CH-47A and too is a Great Helicopter. I give it to the Marines.