May 18 Meeting Will Address Program's Future

It's not the final say on the matter, but a Congressional committee's recommendation to terminate Bell Helicopter's armed reconnaissance helicopter contract may be the beginning of the end for the troubled program.

According to the Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram, the House Armed Services Committee adopted language that would cut $470 million for Bell's ARH-70A helo from the 2008 defense budget. Moreover, the proposal also calls for $58 million in upgrades for existing OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, which the ARH is supposed to replace.

The decision -- just one step in the budget process -- comes just over one week before Army officials are to meet with representatives with Bell, on ways to speed up development and cut costs on the ARH-70A, a modified variant of Bell's 407 civilian helicopter. Original plans called for the Army to buy 512 of the helicopters, in a deal worth more than $3 billion.

Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie, chairman of the Air and Land subcommittee, proposed the funding cut -- citing the fact the program has slipped more than a year behind schedule, while the "projected cost of the aircraft has doubled from $5.2 million to well over $10 million per aircraft."

As Aero-News reported, a prototype ARH-70A crashed on a north Texas golf course in February following apparent engine failure.

Abercrombie says the Army asked Bell in March to show reasons why the ARH-70A program shouldn't be terminated. Claude Bolton, assistant secretary of the Army, wanted to cancel Bell's contract then, following a meeting with Bell representatives, according to the newspaper.

He agreed to postpone that decision and hold another meeting in May, however, after members of the Texas congressional delegation appealed to Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren. That meeting is scheduled for the 18th of this month.

For now, the Army has ordered Bell to halt all work on the program, while the company prepares a plan to cut costs. In an release to ANN Thursday, Bell Helicopter CEO Dick Millman said the ARH Program continues to accomplish critical events during the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.

"We recently completed two significant events in support of a Milestone C (Low Rate Initial Production) decision," Millman said. "These are critical paths to the successful fielding of the ARH-70A. The Bell and Army Teams have worked closely over the life of the ARH Program to bring it to this point. Overall the aircraft is performing well and receiving many positive comments from the Army/Bell test pilot team."

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com, www.army.mil, www.house.gov/hasc/