as it implements ARI, accepting fl eet
retirements and procurement reduc-
tions in the hope that the Army will
stick to its plans for development and
production of the FVL Medium—the
only all-new rotorcraft on the horizon
and a program U.S. industry has long
said it must have to survive.
But the biggest threat to the ARI—
and FVL—is the possible return in
fi scal 2016 of congressional spending
caps. “If we have to delay FVL low-rate
initial production beyond 2030, I am
concerned for the industry, which has
to provide us some advanced capabili-
ties,” says Maj. Gen. Mike Lundy, com-
mander of the Army Aviation Center
of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
The JMR demonstrators—Bell’s
280-kt. V-280 tilt-rotor and Sikorsky/
Boeing’s 230-kt. SB-1 Defi ant rigid coax-
ial-rotor compound helicopter—are to
fl y late in 2017, but Lundy is concerned
that any delay in starting the follow-on
FVL acquisition program could lead
to the engineering teams breaking up
and losing design capability. The head
of Sikorsky’s military business, Samir
Mehta, says the company can cope with
reductions in UH-60 procurement, but
the priority is keeping FVL on track. To
that end, the teams are investing much
more than the government in the JMR
demonstrations.
Under ARI, the Army’s fleet of
modernized AH-64Es, UH-60M/Vs
and Boeing CH-47F Chinooks is to be
complete by around 2027, with pro-
duction of the FVL planned to begin
around 2030. The Apache and Black
Hawk are scheduled to be retired by
around 2060. FVL is not a single pro-
gram, but a suite of common technol-
ogies the Pentagon hopes to apply to
replacements fi rst for the UH-60, then
the AH-64 and eventually the CH-47
cargo helicopter and a future armed
scout rotorcraft.
Despite the controversy, ARI is gath-
ering pace. The fi rst of 10 AH-64 bat-talions to receive Shadow unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS) and convert to
a heavy attack reconnaissance unit to
replace OH-58Ds has formed at Fort
Bliss, Texas. Two more battalions will
convert this year and all 10 are to be
in place by 2019. Each combat avia-
tion brigade will have one 24-Apache
attack helicopter battalion and one
heavy reconnaissance squadron with
24 AH-64Es and 12 RQ-7Bv2 Shadows.
The Army has halted OH-58D train-
ing at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and sent
the helicopters to Davis-Monthan AFB
in Arizona for demilitarization. Fort
Rucker will have 12 UH-72As by the
end of March. Pilot training will begin
in the fourth quarter of this year, and
all 187 of the new training helicopters
are to be in service by fi scal 2018. This
includes 100 additional Lakotas being
procured with fi scal 2014-16 funding.
The OH-58D cockpit and sensor
upgrade program has been canceled,
releasing $1.4 billion in 2015 funding
that has been reallocated to AH-64E
remanufacture, Shadow data-link up-
grades and Gray Eagle improvements,
says Col. Walter Rugen, chief of avia-
tion force development. Overall, the
Army expects to avoid $12 billion in
costs through ARI and save an addi-
tional $1 billion a year.
Boeing and the Army are in discus-
sions on multi-year procurement of the
upgraded AH-64E. The Army hopes
to save money by acquiring at leastAviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 30-APRIL 12, 2015 59
Sikorsky also is trying to infl uence its own destiny by investing
internal and supplier funds in two private-venture prototypes of
the S-97 Raider armed scout helicopter and in the SB-1 Defi ant
demonstrator being built with Boeing for the Army’s $500 million
Joint Multi-Role (JMR) program. Again, if successful these ef-
forts would not pay of until well into the 2020s. “The top line will
be fl at for the next fi ve years as U.S. military production declines
and development programs progress,” says Maurer.
Consolidation of the U.S. helicopter industry would seem
to make sense, but has long been considered near-impossible
because of the power of its single largest customer, and par-
ticularly the U.S. Army. A merger of Sikorsky and Boeing would
put all but one of the Army’s ongoing helicopter procurement
programs in the hands of a single company. A merger with Bell
would eliminate competition for the Army’s Future Vertical Lift
(FVL) program.
But by not objecting to Sikorsky teaming with Boeing for
JMR, the Army appears to have accepted the consequences of
a “winner takes all” outcome to an FVL Medium competition to
replace both the utility Sik orksy UH-60 Black Hawk and attack
Boeing AH-64 Apache. It is unlikely, however, the Army would
sanction a merger with JMR/FVL rival Bell, at least not until af-
ter it is decided which—if either—of the competing high-speed
rotorcraft designs is the winner, which is not expected before
the late 2020s.
Commercially, consolidation among U.S. helicopter manu-
facturers has looked only marginally more appealing. Boeing
has no interest in civil rotorcraft and Bell is now developing the
Model 525, which bumps up against Sikorsky’s S-92 medium/
heavy twin in the lucrative oil-and-gas sector. But outside of
this important market, it is clear that Bell’s 407, 429 and new
505 light commercial helicopters readily complement Sikorsky’s
heavier lineup.
Speaking at UTC’s March 12 investors’ day, CEO Hayes
reassured analysts that Sikorsky, if spun of , would have an
“investment-grade rating.” Tellingly, when asked what out-
come he hoped for, Maurer would say only: “I advocate for a
robust strategic review process.” Having spent all but four of
its 90 years of existence as part of United Technologies, the
future for Sikorsky is no longer clear. cThe U.S. Army has begun retiring
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scouts
(foreground) and replacing them
with AH-64E Apaches.U.S. ARMY