The newest competition in Washington is for biggest loser. Both industry and the military will suffer substantially if the Apr. 6 budget recommendations of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates are implemented. Gates wants to ax the Pentagon's two most high-profile rotorcraft projects -- the Combat Search-and-Rescue (CSAR-X) and VH-71 presidential helicopters -- essentially wiping clean the drawing board for new starts in military helicopters for the foreseeable future.

Gates prefaced his announcement by saying, "enough rhetoric, now is the time for action." The $15-billion CSAR-X program has endured years of delays, interservice rivalries, an Inspector General investigation and two bidder protests. Gates's recommendation was more than a cancellation notice -- it was a repudiation of the U.S. Air Force's stated priorities and acquisition methods: The service has made clear that CSAR-X was its No. 2 acquisition priority, after the KC-X refueling tanker replacement. But analysts say there is little chance this program will be resurrected.

The Lockheed Martin-led VH-71 has had its share of troubles as well, with cost overruns and schedule delays. The price tag for 23 helicopters has doubled, to $13 billion, and Gates is concerned that Increment 1 pilot-production aircraft are not equipped with the required capabilities. Eight of nine Increment 1 VH-71s have been delivered for flight-testing, and one industry analyst questions the financial wisdom of canceling a contract so close to completion of delivery.

Although industry has been largely silent on Gates's decisions, Lockheed Martin allows it is "assessing the impact" the cuts would have on its program and workforce. Despite its size, the VH-71 program accounts for only about 1% of Lockheed Martin's bottom line. Though Gates declined to address termination costs associated with any of its proposals, Finmeccanica, parent company of Lockheed Martin's VH-71 partner, AgustaWestland, says cutting the platform will have "no financial impact on the group." The company has other buyers for the helicopter, but the order book is thin.

The Army's hopes still rest on two projects Gates did not mention, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and the Joint Future Theater Lift (JFTL), both of which have their own issues. Bell Helicopter's ARH came in enough over budget and past schedule that outgoing Pentagon acquisitions chief John Young canceled it in October. Now the Army has to wait until the detailed Fiscal 2010 budget is released to determine whether a list of refined requirements will make its way through the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council or if it will have to pour whatever ARH money is left into upgrading its aging Kiowa Warrior fleet instead.

The JFTL is locked in a turf war between the Air Force and the Army. Just when it looked as though the Air Force was going to give ground on vertical-lift requirements, Brig. Gen. Walter Davis, director of Army Aviation, said the two services are still "trying to resolve some differences."

That leaves the military with Sikorsky's workhorse CH-53K. Although based on an old model, it is entirely new, boasting a gross weight of 84,700 lb., versus 73,000 lb. for the CH-53E. The plan is to procure 200 aircraft, increased from an original request for 156, under the Grow the Force initiative, says Program Manager Capt. Rick Muldoon.

The Navy and Marine Corps have been very protective of the CH-53K and V-22 tiltrotor, which may account for their lack of interest in (or support of) the JFTL. The Marines did something right -- the CH-53K is essentially a single-service platform that is succeeding at a time when Gates is favoring multirole, joint-service assets.

Helicopters are in urgent demand in Afghanistan, Gates noted, but the more than $500 million he announced for Fiscal 2010 will go to people, not platforms. "What became clear in the analysis was that the principal shortfall wasn't in airframes, but in crews," Gates said. While the Army has made no comment yet, it would probably disagree. Loss rates on the Kiowa have been higher than anticipated, resulting in the need to overhaul the oldest OH-58A and –C models into D-models to make up for the lack of airframes available for planned upgrades.

Last year, Congress took note of the problems. Included in the Fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill was a provision for a Future Vertical Lift Capabilities Based Assessment outlining a joint approach to future vertical lift aircraft. But the most recent cuts to rotorcraft programs may be an indication that for now, time and money have run out on those priorities.

Image: Team US101