CBS News sparks VH-71 feeding frenzy

The Pentagon first disclosed a roughly 65% cost overrun for the VH-71 program nearly a year ago, and officially notified Congress of the Nunn-McCurdy breach last month.

So why was it such a big news story today?

Thank CBS Evening News. It's story last night seemed to open a floodgate of reporting today.




Here's the current program status: All eight "Increment One" aircraft, including three flight test vehicles, are almost complete. Progress on the "Increment Two" fleet, which includes a new engine, rotor blades, drive shaft, gear box and tail cone, is stalled pending the Nunn-McCurdy review.

The Pentagon obviously has a huge problem on its hands. This is not an ideal time for a politician to buy a fleet of $400 million executive helicopters. But the VH-3Ds and VH-60s currently doing the job aren't going to fly forever. Maybe Sikorsky could sell about a dozen VH-92s to replace the VH-60s. Perhaps the Navy will cancel Increment Two and settle for the Increment One standard. Terminating the program really can't be an option.