With little concrete justification beyond an “overly aggressive initial program schedule,” the Marine Corps has pushed the first flight back two years to 2013 and slid the initial operating capability (IOC) back by three years to 2018. While stressing the program has not run into technical problems, the rationale for slowing the CH-53K program has, at best, been poorly articulated. Why slow the program? When delivered, the new fly-by-wire CH-53K will, in theory, transport 27,000 pounds of external cargo out to a range of 110 nautical miles, nearly tripling the thirty-year old CH-53E’s lift capability under similar environmental conditions–all while fitting under the same shipboard footprint.