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PostPosted: 23 Feb 2004, 19:06 
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Joined: 23 Jun 2003, 08:29
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FYI, the US Army cancelled the Commanche attack helicopter program. What does this mean for the Warthog? Is there a chance the Army may begin using Fixed-wing?

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - The Army has decided to cancel its Comanche helicopter program, a multibillion-dollar project to build a new-generation chopper for armed reconnaissance missions, officials said Monday.

The contractors for Comanche are Boeing Co. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

With about $8 billion already invested in the program, and the production line not yet started, the cancellation is one of the largest in the history of the Army. It follows the Pentagon's decision in 2002 to cancel the Crusader artillery program — against the wishes of Army leaders.

Pentagon officials said a public announcement was planned for Monday afternoon.

Congressional lawmakers and company executives associated with the program were scrambling Monday to figure out the Pentagon's plans.

Sikorsky spokesman Matthew Broder would only say that "we are on track and fully funded until we hear otherwise."

The Sikorsky plant in Bridgeport, Conn., where the Comanche is being built, opened last year and employs about 400 workers.

"The blow is obviously going to be devastating," said Harvey Jackson, president of Teamsters Local 1150, which represents 3,600 Sikorsky workers.

As envisioned by the Army, the Comanche's primary missions were to collect and share battlefield intelligence information and attack enemy forces. It is a twin-engine, two-pilot helicopter with stealth technology designed to make it more difficult to track and target by enemy forces. Its armaments include a 20mm gun, 2.75-inch aerial rockets and an air-to-air missile.

The Comanche has been a target of critics who say it was an expensive mistake.

"The Comanche program has been plagued with wildly unrealistic technological expectations and the bugaboo of pay more and get less. Cancellation of this program would free up funds for weapons that work and meet our country's true national security needs," said Eric Miller of the Project on Government Oversight, a private watchdog group.

Loren Thompson, who follows aviation and other defense issues for the Lexington Institute think tank said he believes the Army under new chief of staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker favors ending the Comanche program, even though the service had been counting on it to provide a new reconnaissance capability.

"The Bush administration has now killed the two biggest Army weapons programs it inherited from the Clinton administration," Thompson said, referring to the Crusader and Comanche.

Earlier this year the White House budget office asked the Pentagon to provide independent reviews of the Comanche and another expensive aviation program, the Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor fighter.

Although killing the Comanche project would save tens of billion in future costs, the cancellation decision is expected to require the Army to pay at least $2 billion in contract termination fees.

The Comanche program was started in 1983 and had survived many reviews. Under a restructuring worked out in 2002, a decision on going ahead with initial low-rate production was to be made in 2007, with the first Comanches delivered to the Army in 2009 and full-rate production to begin in 2010.


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PostPosted: 23 Feb 2004, 22:09 
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Joined: 08 Apr 2003, 00:31
Posts: 496
Location: Hurtling Rock, Alderaan
Funny, I was just signing on to post this news myself, the exact same article. What a shocker, I've seen a documentary on the Comanche, it's quite a bird. And the first thing I thought of is it can't be bad news for the hog. It means they are going to be using existing arsenal, and the hog is one to choose from. Maybe the hog isn't so short-lived afterall?
Then again, it could have no effect on the hog, but like I said, it can't be BAD news for it...

High On The Hog

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\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo


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