Don’t Ground the Presidential Helicopter Program | Citizens Against Government Waste

Don’t Ground the Presidential Helicopter Program

The WasteWatcher

The presidential helicopter has always provided the media with a picturesque backdrop for the president.  One of the most famous images is President Nixon waving goodbye to the White House for the last time on August 9, 1974 from the top step of the helicopter.

The helicopter was first used in 1958 to transport President Eisenhower to his summer home in Rhode Island.  It was a viable alternative since the trip was too short for Air Force One and a presidential motorcade would have blocked traffic for hundreds of miles.

Since September 11, 2001 the president’s helicopter has an even more important mission:  it might have to provide the commander and chief with a quick escape route and serve as a combined state-of-the-art Oval Office and Situation Room in the sky, complete with military capabilities and more advanced avionics.  Also, the President needs a fleet of helicopters, pre-positioned across the country and the globe to meet his needs when travelling abroad.  In the case of another terrorist attack, a Vietnam-era helicopter is not what the president needs. 

In 2005, a contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin to build 28 helicopters.  The plan was to do the procurement in two increments.  The first increment called for the manufacture of four test aircraft and five “pilot production” aircraft.  The second increment was for 23 more advanced helicopters that would replace the first increment as well as the remaining legacy aircraft.

Since 2005, more than $3.3 billion has been sunk into Increment 1 of the program.  This has produced 9 helicopters, which are currently being tested and are expected to be delivered in April, 2011.  Even before Increment 2 got off the ground, opposition grew to cancel the program.  Unfortunately, cancelling both increments of the program would make poor safety and fiscal sense.  Congress has recommended scrapping Increment 2 and expanding Increment 1 to find a more cost-effective solution.

In an era of high-profile defense procurement shenanigans, such as the continued battle over the new aerial refueling tanker, concerns have arisen over the both the configuration and the cost of the new presidential helicopter fleet.  According to Christopher Drew of the New York Times, “…government and industry officials said that the biggest problem has been that White House planners want a helicopter that is powerful enough to dash nearly 300 miles without refueling in an emergency.  The existing helicopters can fly only about 100 miles, and industry officials say the basic new ones would go about 200.  Most of the cost overruns and delays have come in designing stronger rotor blades and engines to extend the range in the advanced version.”

Recent reports have put the cost of each helicopter at close to $500 million.  But, as the late Paul Harvey often said, there is “the rest of the story.”

There is no question that if the current program was cancelled, the Navy would have to either maintain the current fleet or rebid the contract.  According to a May 18, 2009, House Armed Services Committee report, “The Navy estimates that $4.4 billion will be required in order to extend the service-life of the current fleet of helicopters until a new program is determined and subsequently fielded.”

Another problem with maintaining the current fleet was describe in March 2, 2009 Computer World, which reported that “Classified information about the communications, navigation and management electronics on Marine One, the helicopter now used by President Barack Obama, were reportedly discovered in a publicly available shared folder on a computer in Tehran, Iran, after apparently being accidentally leaked over a peer-to-peer file-sharing network last summer.”

It is unlikely that any savings would be achieved by re-bidding the program.  More than $3 billion has already been invested in the program to cover the R&D and production costs of the first phase.  Navy officials estimate that program termination and liability costs will be $555 million.  Factoring in costs already incurred and shut-down fees, terminating the program now would leave taxpayers with nothing to show for nearly $4 billion, even though nine new aircraft have been produced that meet performance requirements.  That is about the same amount that would be required to extend the service life of the current fleet.  A new contract would cost billions more and the President would be many more years away from having the new choppers. 

In an effort to whittle $17 billion out of his overall $3.6 trillion budget federal spending 2010 budget, President Obama included the helicopter program on the list of program terminations and reductions, which he released on May 7, 2009.  He had stated in February, 2009 that the helicopter he currently uses “seems perfectly adequate” and added, “I think it is an example of the procurement process gone amok.  And we’re going to have to fix it.”

The Pentagon will bear the blame if something happens to the President while he is flying an outdated helicopter.  If the Pentagon really wants to save money, it should consider scaling back some of the more aggressive technical requirements that have led to the cost growth to begin with.  One thing is certain – there will be no cost-savings through termination.

While other defense systems could be categorized as luxuries, a safe and secure presidential helicopter is not.  Starting from scratch will put the President and taxpayers at risk.

-- David Williams

Sign Up For Email Updates


Optional Member Code