Rumour?

[RecruitMonty]

What is this I hear that the USA is purchasing British army helicopters? Is it true? Why are they doing it?

[JJAVN]

I highly doubt this.
But maybe they're sick and tired of using American junk?
Would be quite amazing.
Steel panthers has very little sense of reality, if you already didn't know that.
Canadian Leos CONSTANTLY best US M1a2s in tactics trials. SPMBT goes a little way to correcting this.
The Blackhawk is a very nice platform.. but the Lynx has been shown to be ALOT more reliable. Dont hear about Lynx's going down in the gulf now do ya?

[Listy]

IIRC They're lookign at replaceing Marine one with a Merlin.

[Mobhack]

Listy said:
IIRC They're lookign at replaceing Marine one with a Merlin.

the EH-101 renamed to "US-101" I believe.

http://agustawestland-eh101.area51.ipupdater.com/

Also in 2001 AgustaWestland signed a deal with Lockheed Martin to market the aircraft in the US under the designation US101. It competed for the VIP and "Marine One" Presidential transport roles currently carried out by H-3 Sea King or the smaller UH-60 Black Hawk. The US101 will be built in the United States and fitted with largely American systems and equipment, General Electric turboshafts for example. On 28 January 2005, the US101 was announced as the winner of the contest to supply the next Marine One helicopter for the transportation of the President and other VIPs. In doing so, it beat the Super Hawk, Sikorsky's contender, and became the first non-Sikorsky helicopter to fulfill the Marine One role since 1957. The order is for 23 aircraft, to equip the Marine One squadron, HMX-1.

So - for VIP transport only.

Cheers
Andy

[whdonnelly]

Here is an excerpt from the Ft Worth, Texas, local paper:


Army officials insist that the competition is wide open. Representatives of the competing companies say they believe it will be a fair process and don't expect "Buy America" sentiments to affect the outcome.

"I don't see it as a problem," said Tom Harrison, a retired Army officer and vice president for EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. "The [Army's] solicitation said best value, a full and open competition."

But other observers say politics will surely play a role, although maybe not a decisive one.

"The loser will turn to foreign content arguments. It's inevitable," said Loren Thompson, president of the Lexington Institute defense think tank and a consultant to defense contractors.

The contenders are:

MD Explorer -- An aircraft designed and built by MD Helicopters of Mesa, Ariz., formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopters and before that Hughes Helicopters. It is the smallest and least expensive entrant.

EC-145 -- A German/French design offered by EADS and its U.S. affiliate, Grand Prairie-based American Eurocopter. The aircraft would be assembled in Mississippi with U.S.- and European-produced components.

Bell 412 -- A modern civil version of Bell's venerable Huey, it would be built by Bell in Canada, with many key components produced in Fort Worth.

A139 -- This is the largest, most powerful helicopter with some of latest technology. The most expensive aircraft, it's a product of Italy's AgustaWestland, which also developed the future US101 presidential helicopter. The helicopters would be built in Waco by L-3 Communications Integrated Systems from U.S. and European components.

The winning bidder will also train pilots and mechanics, perform much of the maintenance and repair work, and guarantee that a high percentage of the aircraft will be available to fly at any time.

Army officials say the long-term cost of operating and maintaining the aircraft will be a major factor in their decision.

[whdonnelly]

Sorry, but I left out the part about utilization:

Army officials are planning to spend upward of $1.5 billion to buy a fleet of more than 300 civil helicopters for noncombat military and homeland-security missions.

[RecruitMonty]

So they are buying Merlins instead, will they be used as cover for the seahawks or not?

[whdonnelly]

My guess is that the bureaucrats want some newer transportation for themselves, since the military stuff is so beat up.