Wed, Apr 29, 2009
Despite being 'on the bubble' for potential program cancellation
by the Obama Administration, the ninth and final VH-71 to be built
under "Increment 1" of the US Presidential Helicopter Replacement
Program departed AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility Tuesday on its
way to the United States for completion by prime contractor
Lockheed Martin. The aircraft will depart the UK for the US later
this week aboard a US Air Force C-17 transport aircraft.
On the defensive against critics of this program, Giuseppe Orsi,
the CEO of AgustaWestland said, "The delivery of the final aircraft
today has been achieved just over four years after the contract was
awarded in 2005. All the aircraft delivered are completely
compliant to the specifications required by the U.S. Government and
the progress achieved in such a short period of time is uncommon
for an acquisition of this size and complexity. The whole VH-71
team can be proud of this remarkable achievement".
He went on to say "The VH-71 helicopters meet or exceed all the
performance requirements specified in the contract and it remains
the only helicopter available today, or in the medium term, that
can meet the demanding requirements. The VH-71 delivers much
greater safety, speed, range and capability that the legacy
aircraft which are now reaching the end of their service life."
The contract to build four Test Vehicles (TV) and five Pilot
Production (PP) aircraft was awarded in January 2005. Since then,
according to AW, the program schedule has changed by only six
months while accommodating over 800 customer changes including 50
major design changes.
AgustaWestland talks up the vehicle as 'as more than an
executive transport helicopter', describing it as a command and
control platform that provides the President with seamless
communications connectivity and fulfill the Marine One mission
requirements. The VH-71 aircraft will be ready to enter service in
late 2010 following installation of the cabin interior,
communications suite and other mission equipment. Following
delivery of the final "Increment 1" aircraft AgustaWestland will
continue to provide technical and logistical support for the fleet
of aircraft and is ready to proceed with "Increment 2" or a range
of alternative solutions utilizing the capabilities of the
"Increment 1" VH-71.
The VH-71 is based on the AW101 helicopter currently serving
with seven armed forces and has logged more than 180,000 flight
hours, including prolonged combat operations in Iraq and
Kosovo.
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