Now its time for the anti-Boeing crowd to fire back in the ongoing CSAR-X cat fight that DT is only too happy to keep tabs on.
According to an email sent to us, the House Appropriations Defense panel inserted language into the fiscal 2008 Pentagon funding bill that called into question the methodology of the CSAR-X decision in favor of Boeings HH-47 Chinook.
The language states:
The Committee is concerned about the selection criteria and process by which this program has proceeded to source selection. The Committee directs the Secretary of the Air Force to submit a report to the congressional defense committees detailing the source selection criteria and how they were established. The report shall include the significant factors for the Request for Proposal (RFP) that determined the source selection, their importance, and how each of the respondents to the RFP was rated against those factors. The report shall be delivered not later than September 15, 2007.
This is all well and good of course…But the irony is it is unlikely the Defense Appropriations bill will be passed by the report deadline. With arguments over Iraq strategy and Gen. Petraeus surge report coming, we doubt Congress will have the comity to pass a hotly-contested defense bill.
Even if we never get the Air Force report, at least one powerful committee in Congress is concerned about the decision and has put that concern into law. In the end, however, the debate may accomplish little other than delaying a much-needed upgrade to one of the most important missions the Air Force has.
ok and you have more than likely never flew or have seen one fly to it’s abilities. The Chinook was doing everything the blackhawk,pavehawk and pave low can do before those capabilites were common knowledge. Oh did I mention high altitude capabilities?
I was in the helio rescue field for over 12 yrs. I have had to hover over 100 ft in a canyon, that kept getting narrow. In this type of situation SIZE matters. We were in an HH-43B,and We barly fit at the top. CH-47 no way. And in VN many Nose wheel only hovers on the side of a mountain, with lots of trees CH-3 and 53. Barly fit. Whats needed is FAST<AGILE<and Very Stable in the hover.In other words don’t send a B-52 when an F-16 is the only option.
In the CSAR-X, the USAF simply got what they wanted — first draw the lines, and then plot the data, in much the same manner they have repeatedly tried to get Bowing for their tankers.
Bigger is better. Would you want a fully stocked ambulance to come pick you up from a car wreck, or argue that a Geo Storm with a roof rack haul you to the hospital…
Go with the Chinook, faster, bigger, way more stable, and as for the RPG bull the only time you get hit with those is during hover, something EVERY evac has to do. Not to mention fuel range, internal fuel tanks if needed.
How do you people base your decisions? Which one looks nicer or something?
The chinook is a great copter for what it does. but with the CV-22 coming on line soon you need a mixed sized fleet for all types of terrian.Also think of ground crew training and other programs out there and how can we save taxpayer money.The vh-71 is go enough for the president the us 101 can rescue the presidents men.The hh-60 an the s-92(canada’s sar copter)are produced by the same company that has training guidelines and similar systems on line.But like Mr Meltzer ‚Can’t put a 47 in a place you can put a hh60 or us 101. Leave it to the air force to look for the biggest an expensive answer.Help the marines with the uh-1y they have to replace there uh1n’s soon also.Look out side the box air force ‚you have to pay for those f-22s
RPG magnet?
Are we to pretend the H-60 hasn’t ‘caught’ its fair share of RPGs (Blackhawk down)?
All helos are vulnerable in the terminal area…question is when you are in these environments, can you survive the engagement?
Fact is that the most agile helo’s in the DoD inventory (H-60,AH-64, OH-58) are seeing 50% loses today from hostile fire…meanwhile, H-47s are seeing hostile fire loses at approx 20%.
The reality on the battlefield doesn’t seem to match the antidotal assumption that a larger acft is at greater risk.
It is imperative that a replacement copter be fielded ASAP. GWB’s military policy has worn out the H-60s (as well as most of the rest of the old Air Force fleets). Research yourself and read the GAO report. How the cost was calculated was the only problem they had with the decision. Cost was the least important driver as the rotor with the most capability was more important. READ THE GAO REPORT! Half truths from journalists (whether they have a prvious military background or not) is irrelevant.
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