USAF Delays RfP for Security Helos

26 Sep 2011 By MARCUS WEISGERBER DefenseNews

The U.S. Air Force has told industry it is delaying the release of a draft request for proposals (RfP) for new nuclear missile field security helicopters.

This comes one month after the service submitted a draft 2013 budget proposal to the Office of the Secretary of Defense that did not include funding for the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (CVLSP) program.

"The Air Force is currently undergoing programmatic and budgetary deliberations resulting from the Budget Control Act and establishment of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction," a notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website states. "In recognition of industry's time and monetary investment required to provide input on the draft RfP, the Air Force is temporarily delaying its release."

The service was expected to release a draft RfP at the beginning of September.

In August, Congress passed and the president signed the Budget Control Act, which calls for $450 billion in national security cuts over the next decade. The law also established a bipartisan super committee that is tasked with finding an additional $1.2 trillion in federal spending cuts over the same time period.

The CVLSP program is supposed to replace 93 UH-1N Huey helicopters that currently perform the nuclear security and VIP transport missions.