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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0454.PDF
WORLD NEWS US Army sets new LHX timetable WASHINGTON D.C. ~ Pentagon budget cuts have pushed initial operational capability of the US Army's LHX light armed scout heli copter back to 1996 —a year later than called for in recent planning, reports Julian Moxon. Under the restructured LHX programme, in which the utility version of the heli copter is dropped, leaving only the scout and light- attack versions, the Pentagon's Defence Acquisi tion Board should approve the LHX schedule this April. Immediately after that, requests for proposals will go out to the two industry teams, Bell/McDonnell Douglas and Boeing/Sikorsky. In the fiscal year 1989 Pentagon budget request sent to Congress last week, the Army has cut $407 million from its original "optimistic" LHX budget, leaving just $125 million for this year, and pushing the programme to the right by at least a year. The LHX programme was restructured in order to ensure the helicopter's survival under strong Congressional pressure to buy more AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, UH-60 utility aircraft, and OH-58D scouts. Dropping the utility version ("for the foreseeable future") effectively cut LHX procurement in half, to 2,100 helicopters, reducing the total programme cost to around $30 billion instead of $66 billion. Assuming the RFP comes out in the spring, the Army plans to award up to $165 million to each team in Octo ber for "LHX airframe and mission equipment package [MEP] component demon stration". This phase would last 18 months, to April 1990. After an eight-month delib eration period, the Army source selection board would, in December of that year, select one team for entry into the 60-month LHX and MEP full-scale development phase. This would lead to first flight of the aircraft in May 1993. Low-rate initial production would be expected to begin the following December, with the first Army unit receiving aircraft three years later. Down-selection of the 1,200 s.h.p. T800 LHX engines under development by Avco Lycoming/Pratt & Whitney and Garrett/Allison is expected this September. The Army rejects criticisms that it is holding a "paper flyoff" competition between the two teams rather than calling for prototype aircraft. It says that, by the end of the 18-month component demon stration phase, the two teams will have built a considerable amount of prototype hard ware and software. Air vehicle and MEP preliminary design will have been completed, along with detailed design of critical components, such as the flight control and trans mission systems. Windtunnel testing, engineering simu lation, and design and initial development of systems inte gration laboratories and soft ware development facilities will have been completed, and flight demonstrations of MEP and computer hardware carried out. The Army says that, as currently planned, the unit cost of LHX will be $8 million (FY1988 dollars), and the light helicopter will have a basic weight of "around 7,5001b" —down slightly from the pre-restructure weight of 8,1001b. LHX will be "single-pilot capable", but designed to carry two pilots "if the mission demands". Four Hell- fire anti-tank missiles, four air-to-air Stingers, and a 30mm gun will comprise the basic weapons fit. Night-flying capability of the LHX has been reduced somewhat in the restructured aircraft, such that two pilots, for example, will now be needed for the more demanding nap-of-the-earth missions. Various other ideas have also reportedly been dropped from the initial version of the helicopter, including voice-interactive avionics, IFF interrogator, a digital map display, and non- line-of-sight high-frequency radio. The US Army is arming some of its Bell OH-58D scout helicopters and may eventually use the machine as an "interim LHX" US Army deploys armed 0H-58D WASHINGTON D.C. Armed versions of the Bell OH-58D scout/reconnaissance helicopter have been delivered to the US Army, reports Julian Moxon. The armed OH-58D (the Army's informal name for the aircraft is the AH-58D Warrior) is equipped to carry four different types of weapon: four Hellfire laser- guided air-ground missiles; four Stinger air-to-air missiles; two rocket pods; two 0-50-calibre machine guns; or a mixture of the above. Bell says that techniques have been perfected to permit use of the OH-50D's mast- mounted sight as an aiming device for all four weapons. Deployment to the Fort Bragg-based 18th Airborne Corps aviation brigade, target acquisition and recon naissance company, began in December. Seven armed OH- 58Ds had been delivered by mid-January. Bell says that 15 aircraft will be modified initially, "with an unspecified number to follow". The Army tells Flight that its desire is to "get initial operational experience" of an armed light helicopter recon naissance unit. "The deploy ment does not presage conversion of the total OH- 58D fleet to armed status," it adds. The armed OH-58D comes after the unarmed OH-58D provided highly effective day and night reconnaissance for AH-64 Apache attack helicop ters during last year's Reforger exercises in West Germany. The two aircraft were flying joint missions for the first time. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 27 February 1988
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