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| VH-71 "Kestrel" | |
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| VH-71 undergoing testing near the Lockheed facility in Owego, NY | |
| Role | Executive transport helicopter |
| Manufacturer | AgustaWestland Bell Helicopter (assembly) |
| First flight | 3 July 2007 |
| Introduced | 2010 (planned) |
| Status | Testing |
| Primary user | United States Marine Corps |
| Produced | 2010-2015 (planned) |
| Number built | 28 (planned) |
| Unit cost | $400 million (average procurement cost)1 |
| Developed from | AgustaWestland AW101 |
The VH-71 Kestrel, a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101), is being developed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One Presidential transport fleet. It is being produced by the Lockheed Martin-led "US101 Team" of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter.
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Development
EH101
The EH101 was developed by EH Industries, a joint venture of the British Westland Aircraft and Italian Agusta companies. The aircraft first flew on October 9, 1987, and entered service with the Royal Navy in 2000.
US101
On 23 July 2002 Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland signed a 10-year agreement to jointly market, produce and support a medium-lift helicopter, an EH101 derivative called US101, in the United States.2 The companies envisaged marketing the aircraft in three roles; US Air Force combat search and rescue, US Coast Guard search and rescue, and US Marine Corps executive transport.
On 15 May 2003 AgustaWestland signed an agreement with Bell Helicopter to undertake final assembly of the US101 in the United States.3 AgustaWestland will produce the main rotor blades and main fuselage sections at its Yeovil, UK facility. The company will produce other components, including the gearbox, at its Cascina Costa, Italy facility. This represents a work share of 36%. The remaining 64% work share is split between Lockheed Martin (31%) and Bell Helicopter (27%) and others (6%).4
VXX competition
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on 18 December 2003 for the supply of 23 helicopters to replace the 11 VH-3Ds and 8 VH-60Ns of USMC HMX-1 squadron. This requirement was given the designation VXX (V being the prefix for VIP aircraft and XX representing the then unspecified numerical part of the designation).
Both AgustaWestland and Sikorsky responded to the RFP. Sikorsky proposed the VH-92, a variant of the H-92 Superhawk, in partnership with FlightSafety International, L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, and GE-Aviation.
On 28 January 2005 the Department of Defense announced that it had selected the US101 for the VXX program. The US101 team was awarded a US$1.7 billion contract for the VXX system development and demonstration (SDD) phase.5 The price of the development later rose by 40% to $2.4 billion.6 The full cost of the project is estimated at $6.1 Bn,7 although some analysts expect the cost to rise above $7Bn, making this the most expensive helicopter ever, with a unit cost of $270m.8 As of March 2008 the program cost totaled $11.2Bn, making each helicopter more expensive than the Boeing 747-based VC-25s that serve as Air Force One after adjustment for inflation.19
Program problems and delays
In addition to rising costs, delays and engineering issues have plagued the VH-71's development.10 During the ongoing CSAR-X contract controversy (in which the EH101 is LMSI's offering), the Air Force source selection authority has, on several occasions, referred to Lockheed's VH-71 program as having "unsatisfactory performance". These concerns with the VH-71 have caused the Air Force to cast doubts on LMSI's ability to supply helicopters for a potential CSAR program award; in March 2007 the initial GAO report which upheld Sikorsky and Lockheed's contract award protests versus Boeing's HH-47 mentioned "that LMSI had received a little confidence rating for past performance due to unsatisfactory performance under its current contract for the VH-71 Presidential helicopter, which was evaluated as the most highly relevant to this procurement. According to the SSA, LMSI had "show[n under that contract] that it could not reliably meet important schedule requirements and had difficulty in systems engineering flow-downs to their subcontractors."11 The contractor, in turn, pointed to the government's insistence on extensive modifications, not anticipated at the initial RFP phase, as the source of the cost overruns.12
In December 2007, DoD officials met with the White House Military Office to discuss the VH-71 program's future, as the Pentagon apparently wished to terminate the program due to multiple setbacks, budget issues, and design problems. The White House overruled a cancellation decision and the program was essentially put on hold while options are considered.13 As of July 2008, the VH-71A, also called increment 1, is to reach operating capability in 2010. The second phase of the development, VH-71B or increment 2 is expected to start entering service in 2017.14
In October 2008, while commenting on defense programs likely to be cut or even canceled by the incoming Obama administration, John Young (Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) mentioned that the VH-71, being a high-profile project staggering under significant cost growth, “is very high on that list”.15
Testing
The first test VH-71A, Test Vehicle #2 (TV-2), made its initial flight on 3 July 2007 at AgustaWestland's facility in Yeovil, UK.16 Lockheed Martin is already using an EH101, designated TV-1, for initial testing in the USA, including landings on the White House lawn.
The first production VH-71A, Pilot Production #1 (PP-1), made its maiden flight on 22 September 2008 from AgustaWestland's Yeovil, UK plant. The US Air Force transported the helicopter in a C-17 to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland for further testing.17 The first production VH-71 joined the test program at NAS Patuxent River, beginning ground testing in early December 2008.18
Variants
- VH-71A
- The initial production VH-71 aircraft or Increment one of the presidential helicopter replacement program, designed to meet an urgent need for new helicopters.
- VH-71B
- Increment two will provide 23 operational helicopters with increased range and upgraded navigation and communications systems that fulfill White House requirements to maintain continuity of government and allow the president to carry out the duties of the office. The current presidential helicopters are scheduled to begin phasing out of operational service at a rate of three per year beginning in 2017.
Other competitions
The US101 is also competing for two USAF contracts, the 141-aircraft Combat Search and Rescue Replacement (CSAR-X) project (originally won by the Boeing HH-47 on 10 November 2006, but now subject to a second procurement competition), and the 70-aircraft Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP).19
Operators
- United States Marine Corps (on order).
Specifications (EH-101)
Specifications with an asterisk (*) next to them are specifically for the VH-71.20
Data from MSN article20
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Capacity:
- 14 seated troops* or
- 45 standing troops or
- 16 stretchers with medics
- Length: 74 ft 10 in* (22.81 m)
- Rotor diameter: 61 ft 0 in (18.59 m)
- Height: 21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
- Disc area: 2,992 ft² (271 m²)
- Empty weight: 23,150 lb (10,500 kg)
- Useful load: 12,000 lb (5,443 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 34,320 lb (15,600 kg)
Performance
- Never exceed speed: 167 knots (192 mph, 309 km/h)
- Range: 750 NM (863 mi, 1,389 km)
- Service ceiling 15,000 ft (4,575 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10.2 m/s)
- Disc loading: 11.01 lb/ft² (53.8 kg/m²)
See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
References
- ^ a b "Cost Soars For Marine One Copter Fleet" The Washington Post, 23 March 2008.
- ^ "Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland Announce Long-term Agreement for US101 Helicopter", Lockheed Martin Corp. 23 July 2002.
- ^ "AgustaWestland Selects Bell Helicopter as Airframe Manufacturer for US101 Production"
- ^ "US101 Blows Away Sikorsky in $6.1 Billion VXX Competition", Air Forces Monthly
- ^ "Lockheed Martin to Build New Presidential Helicopter" U.S. Department of Defense January 28, 2005
- ^ "Presidential helicopter costs soar", flightglobal.com 22 May 2007.
- ^ TY: Feature creep and the new Marine One (VH-71)
- ^ VH-71 “Kestrel” / VXX Vertical Lift Aircraft, globalsecurity.org
- ^ "Executive Branch Strikes VH-71 Deal" Aerospace Daily and Defense Report, 17 March 2008.
- ^ "Development hurdles ahead for future presidential helicopter", aionline.com
- ^ "B-299145.4, Sikorsky Aircraft Company; Lockheed Martin Systems, March 29, 2007", GAO.
- ^ Warwick, Graham. "Presidential helicopter costs soar", Flight International, 22 May 2007.
- ^ "VH-71 Presidential Helicopter on Hold", DefenseNews.com, December 14, 2007
- ^ O'Keeffe, Niall. "VH-71A to gain obtain operational capability in 2010", Flight International, 18 July 2008.
- ^ "Next Administration to Face Major Decision in First Months on Key Weapons Programs", InsideDefense, Oct 31, 2008.
- ^ "First VH-71 presidential helicopter flies". Flightglobal.com, 5 July 2007.
- ^ "First VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Production Aircraft Takes Flight", Lockheed Martin, 22 September 2008.
- ^ "First Production VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Joins Test Program". Lockheed Martin & AgustaWestland North America, 2 December 2008.
- ^ "CSAR-X", teamus101.com.
- ^ a b Peter Baker (2008-03-15). "Costs soar for new Marine One fleet", MSNBC. Retrieved on 12 August 2008. mirror
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AgustaWestland AW101 |
- Lockheed Martin VH-71
- Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel Video
- DoD Special Briefing on Award of Presidential Helicopter Contract
- "Trouble On The Takeoff" Newsweek, 26 November 2007
- "Costs soar for new Marine One fleet" MSNBC, 16 March 2008
- "Newest VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Begins Mission Systems Integration", PR Newswire, 2 April 2008
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