Another decade, another multi-billion $ Army helicopter program cancelled

Sikorsky S-97 Raider, the company was planning on basing its FARA candidate on this airframe

The Army has once again sunk a massive amount of money into a new helicopter program only to cancel it. Does this story sound familiar? It should. They do it every decade or so. Here’s a brief history of US Army attack helicopter programs and their dispositions;

•  AH-1 Cobra – Successfully entered production, though only as a stopgap until the AH-50 could be produced.
• AH-50 Cheyenne – Intended to be the Army’s main attack helicopter. Cancelled just before entering serial production.
• AH-64 Apache – Replaced the AH-1. Still in service as the service’s front line armed helicopter.
• OH-58 Kiowa – A lightly armed reconnaissance helicopter. Fielded from Vietnam until 2013.
• RAH-66 Comanche – Was to be the replacement for the AH-64. Was the result of a project started in the 80s. Two prototypes flew and it was cancelled in 2004 just before entering production. It was to combine the roles of the AH-64 and the OH-6, and OH-58.
• ARH-70 Arapaho – After losing the Comanche, the Army started the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program. The Arapaho was the result. Was to replace the OH-58. Cancelled just before main procurement.
• Armed Aerial Scout – After the end of the ARH program, they started this one. Then cancelled it in 2013.
• Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft – The subject of the latest cancellation. Program started in 2018. Supposed to replace the OH-58.

If you’re paying attention, we’ve fielded three successful attack/reconnaissance helicopters. The AH-1, AH-64, and OH-58 (though the OH-6 Cayuse/Loach and its derivative, the MH-6 Little Bird, could also fit the category). Both the Cobra and Kiowa were designed in the 60s. The Apache was a product of the mid-70s. All airframes have been advanced several times over the years, but we’ve been trying to replace Vietnam-era platforms with something more modern for more than 40 years, have spent several billion dollars on the effort, and once again are coming up short.

At this point it seems like it’s a hobby for the Army to enter a multi-year development program only to cancel it, usually at the last moment, right as the project’s goals are about to be reached.

From Army Times;

But Thursday, the Army’s top acquisition officials described a new vision and major aviation overhaul. In addition to ending FARA, the Army plans to get rid of its entire Shadow and Raven unmanned aircraft fleets, said Doug Bush, the service’s acquisition chief.

It will also stop fielding its new replacement for UH-60 Lima-model Black Hawk utility helicopter — the Victor-model — to the Army National Guard and instead field UH-60 Mike-models, the latest variant used in the active force, Bush said.

Finally, the service will delay procurement of its next-generation helicopter engine, which was set to be used in all UH-60s, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters as well as to power FARA.

Instead, Bush said the Army will spend the newly available money on Black Hawks, the latest variant of the CH-47F Block II Chinook cargo helicopter, the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft and research and development efforts to accelerate its unmanned aerial reconnaissance capability.

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Army, Government Incompetence