Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel

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.

Development

EH101

Main article: AgustaWestland AW101

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. 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. 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%).

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. The price of the development later rose by 40% to $2.4 billion. The full cost of the project is estimated at $6.1 Bn, although some analysts expect the cost to rise above $7Bn, making this the most expensive helicopter ever, with a unit cost of $270m. 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.

Program problems and delays

In addition to rising costs, delays and engineering issues have plagued the VH-71's development. 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." 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.

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. 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.

In October 2008, while commenting on defense programs likely to be cut or even canceled by the incoming Obama administration, John Young (secretary 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”.

Testing

The first test VH-71A, Test Vehicle #2 (TV2), made its initial flight on 3 July 2007 at AgustaWestland's facility in Yeovil, UK. 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 will transport the helicopter in a C-17 to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland in October 2008 for further testing.

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).

Operators

United States

• United States Marine Corps (on order).
  • HMX-1 Marine One Squadron

Specifications (EH-101)

Specifications with an asterisk (*) next to them are specifically for the VH-71.

Data from MSN article

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Capacity:
  
  • 14 seated troops* or
  • 45 standing troops or
  • 16 stretchers with medics

Performance

See also

Related development

• AgustaWestland AW101
• CH-149 Cormorant

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• NHI NH90
• Sikorsky S-92

Related lists

• List of helicopters
• List of military transport aircraft

External links

• 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