Marines to Boost Helo Upgrade Program

The Marine Corps is bulking up its attack helicopter fleet, increasing by 25 percent the number of helicopters it intends to include in a beleaguered H-1 upgrade program that had for years flirted with cancellation.

The plan to replace more UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobras with upgraded UH-1Ys and AH-1Zs is a direct result of an initiative to expand the Corps by about 20,000 leathernecks, service officials said.

The Marine Corps now wants to expand its original procurement goal of 100 UH-1Ys to 123, and 180 AH-1Zs to 226 -- with all of the added aircraft being newly built rather than upgrades of the current fleet.

The helicopter overhauls -- through a mix of new production and remanufacturing -- include replacing the current two-bladed rotor systems found on the Huey and Cobra with a four-bladed system and installing a new digital cockpit. The laundry list of upgrades is expected to improve safety for the crew, increase their weapons capability and keep the helos flying longer.

The additional aircraft have been included in the Corps' 2010 Program Objective Memorandum, which forecasts the service's budget request for 2010. That request has been submitted but has not yet been approved by DoD officials, said Naval Air Systems Command spokeswoman Stephanie Vendrasco.

The H-1 upgrade program is currently in the final phase of operational evaluation, with a decision for full-rate production slated for later this year, Navy officials have told Congress.

It's a milestone that many doubted would happen at all.

Up until May 2005 the program was restructured about five times and had a host of technical and budget problems, recalled defense analyst Robert Work of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

The increased buy could signal the $8.7 billion program is out of the woods, Work believes.

He's not alone.

Defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute said the H-1 upgrade program has crossed the invisible threshold where now it would look foolish to give up on it.

"After the cost growth the program experienced early in its history, it's back on track and the Corps feels that it needs it," Thompson said. "If you looked at this program a year or two ago, you would have wondered if it would succeed. But now that doesn't seem to be an issue."

The Corps' Hueys and Cobras have proven to be workhorses on the battlefield. In December 2007, for example, AH-1Ws in Iraq flew 39.3 hours each on average, compared to the 16 hours originally planned for the program. That same month, UH-1Ns flew about 38.9 hours compared to the 16.3 hours planned, according to Marine Corps records.

The Corps' need for additional Hueys and Cobras stems from service's expansion plans, which includes reorganizing and adding new light attack helicopter squadrons, explained Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Eric Dent. By 2011, the Corps will add three active squadrons to its current six and stand down one of its two reserve squadrons, he said.

Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron 775 will be deactivated in October as the new HMLA-467 stands up at Cherry Point, N.C., Dent said. Additional new active units will be established in the next few years: HMLA-469 at Camp Pendleton in fiscal 2009 and HMLA-567 in New River, N.C. in fiscal 2011.

The Corps is still reviewing how it will move the upgraded helicopters into the fleet, Dent added.

"However, generally speaking, West Coast HMLAs will receive the aircraft first, followed by East Coast HMLA squadrons, and finally, the Reserves at HMLA-773," he said. Transitions for the UH-1Y will be completed by 2013 and the AH-1Z by 2019, he added.

Implementing the upgrades could come with significant disruptions. AH-1Ws, for example, must be removed from service for two years in order to be remanufactured into AH-1Zs.

"The net result of removing operational aircraft for that length of time is a deficit in warfighting assets," Dent said.

To help mitigate the shortfall, he said, the planned new-build AH-1Zs will be made first, allowing the Corps to keep the current AH-1Ws in the fight longer.

"However, the intent is to revert back to a remanufacturing strategy once the operational AH-1 shortfall has been mitigated," Dent said.

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