A U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk lands near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The Air Force plans to award the helicopter's replacement in 2013.
(Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / U.S. Air Force)
10 Aug 2011 By MARCUS WEISGERBER DefenseNews
New U.S. Air Force combat rescue helicopters might not reach the battlefield until 2018, further delaying the service's ongoing effort to recapitalize its fatigued HH-60 Pave Hawk fleet.
The Air Force plans to award a contract for the HH-60 Recap program in 2013, according to an Aug. 9 request for information (RfI).
This would come seven years after the Air Force selected the Boeing HH-47 as the winner in an unsuccessful effort to replace its Pave Hawks.
The service expects the HH-60 Recap aircraft "will be an existing production helicopter with modifications using existing mature technology with only limited integration of existing subsystems as required," the RfI states.
In all, the Air Force is expected to replace 112 Sikorsky Pave Hawk helicopters, which have been in service since the early 1980s.
Initial operational capability (IOC) not expected until 2018, the RfI states. However, the document does note the battle-ready date could be sooner. IOC includes eight aircraft, training systems, support and the ability to deploy four aircraft for 30 days.
The Air Force will assess companies' ability to reach IOC by 2018 "or sooner with a medium risk schedule," the RfI states. An October 2010 RfI for the Pave Hawk recapitalization effort called for battle-ready helicopters by the end of 2015.
The RfI does not go into many details and refers bidders to a systems requirements document, which will only be released to contractors.
While the RfI does not state performance characteristics of the desired helicopter, it does note the Air Force anticipates using multiple datalinks. It also notes the service "may or may not" include a training system as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase.
Responses to the RfI are due by Sept. 19.
The Air Force selected the Boeing HH-47 as the winner of the Combat Search-and-Recue Helicopter (CSAR-X) competition in 2006.
The $15 billion CSAR-X program was recompeted after industry protest by Sikorsky and a Lockheed Martin-Agusta Westland team. The program was eventually canceled by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who ordered the Air Force to scale back the effort.
Many of the same players are expected to be involved in the HH-60 Recap competition, although the teams might change.
Sikorsky has teamed with Lockheed in recent years to offer the Black Hawk in numerous military helicopter competitions. Lockheed performs systems integration duties.
Agusta Westland has teamed with Boeing to compete to build a new Presidential Helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps. Boeing has obtained the rights to co-build the AW101.
In prior information requests for the HH-60 recap program, Agusta Westland has pitched its AW101, Bell-Boeing the V-22 Osprey, Boeing the Chinook, EADS the EC725 and NH90 and Sikorsky the UH-60M Black Hawk.
Based on the Army Black Hawk, the HH-60 Pave Hawk is modified with rescue-specific equipment, such as upgraded navigation, communication, radar and sensors. Over the years, the service has lost numerous aircraft and the current fleet has been continuously deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, where they routinely fly medical evacuation missions.