Presidential Helo Restart Possible Next Spring
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Published: 23 Nov 2009 16:00
U.S. Defense Department officials hope to relaunch by next spring a multibillion-dollar effort to design and build a new fleet of helicopters devoted to ferrying U.S. presidents, Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, said Nov. 23.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April terminated the years-long, multibillion-dollar VH-71 effort, citing requirements creep, which refers to the costly and time-consuming practice of adding more and more requirements to new weapon plans. Since then, numerous DoD and federal agencies have been working toward a fresh slate of requirements that are more technically feasible than the now-canceled VH-71 program.
Pentagon officials have "been working intensively with the White House through the requirements" for a new fleet of presidential transporters, Carter told reporters during a Pentagon roundtable. He said officials are adamant about avoiding the "piling on" of more and more requirements to the package of specs for the new choppers, which many officials and analysts say made the VH-71 program too costly for Gates' liking.
"We can't let that happen next time," Carter said. The Obama White House, he said, "is interested in avoiding this piling on."
When the re-examination of the presidential helicopter requirements began about seven months ago, the department determined there were about 48 different ways to meet the various specs. Now, Carter said, that list has been whittled to 17 possible solutions or "alternative program approaches." These include various "types and mixes of helicopters," he said.
Each solution still on the table would cost "a lot less than" the now-canned VH-71 effort, Carter said.
The Pentagon is now focused on explaining to White House officials what are the tradeoffs among various approaches.
He said the department would prefer starting the design of a new transporter around an existing commercial helicopter. Such an approach is almost always cheaper than starting from scratch.
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