New Presidential Helicopter Fleet May Be Scrapped
The new presidential helicopter may be the latest casualty of the economic crisis. The Lockheed Martin Corp VH-71 helicopter program was created to replace the current VH-3 helicopters which have been in service for decades. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is calling for termination of the program which has seen costs balloon as time went on. Originally a fleet of 23 helicopters created to support the president was supposed to $6.5 billion but now it is estimated to cost over $13 billion and is years behind schedule. Gates has said the Pentagon will work on new strategies for a presidential helicopter soon. At over $400 million apiece, each new VH-71 helicopter would have cost more than the last Air Force One plane.
The VH-71 is currently in the testing phase,the first operational, or pilot production VH-71 made its initial flight September 22, 2008.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marsh May 7th 2009 4:58PM
Obama's cancelling of the new fleet of helicopters may on the surface sound "noble". However, when you realize that the new fleet was to go into use the year after the end of a possible second Obama term, then you can see that this cut has no effect on him at all. The aging helicopter fleet will be the problem of a future president - with no lead time to develop a new solution.