By Ann Roosevelt
The Army has increased the numbers of required UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, produced by Sikorsky [UTX], in light of an increased number of helicopters needed in medical evacuation companies, a service aviation official said.
“Our first priority is aircraft in the fight…everything else we do supports that action,” Col. Neil Thurgood, project manager for Utility Helicopters, said at the Association of the United States Army Aviation Symposium and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.
Since last year, the requirement has swelled to 2,135 Black Hawks as a result of the service increasing the numbers of helicopters in the medical evacuation companies from 12 to 15, he said.
“They’re the most engaged aircraft,” Thurgood said, The medevac Black Hawks are “always going where the fight is,” meaning they get shot at a lot.
Col. William Morris, director of Army Aviation in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7, said all medevac companies in Afghanistan have been ramped up to 15 ship units.
“It happened rapidly,” Morris said. The units “help reduce the time for medical evacuation and get those injured servicemen to health care within the hour, the Golden Hour…[from] the dispersed FOBs we have in Afghanistan.”
The requirement also increased due to the Army creating an additional Combat Aviation Brigade, meaning the need for an additional 53 aircraft.
Thurgood is responsible for the UH-60 fleet, the Light Utility Helicopter LUH 72A Lakota fleet, and the T701D engines common to the Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Every morning, Thurgood gets a report on the 407 Black Hawks deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Sinai, and other locations–every tail number in the fleet.
Since the same conference a year ago, 118 new Black Hawks have been produced, 54 Light Utility Helicopter Lakotas have been made and more than 450 T701D engines.
The Army eventually wants a fleet consisting of Black Hawk L and M models. Sikorsky now is only building the M model, and is about seven to eight aircraft ahead, equating to about a month ahead of schedule, Thurgood said.
Every report from the field is telling Thurgood that the M model, with its digital screens, offers greater situational awareness and magnifies the ability for missions to be successful.
With an average age of 24.8 years for Black Hawk helicopters, Thurgood’s office continues to examine obsolescence and upgrade programs to move the program forward.
Also under Thurgood’s purview, the UH-72A Lakota continues as planned on its acquisition strategy. Last year the program, produced by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), completed a 100 percent production transition to the United States from Germany, as planned.
The Army has received 147 aircraft against the requirement of 345–about halfway through the program that was accelerated to receive deliveries earlier. At the current rate, the program would complete by late 2014, early 2015.
“Every aircraft is on time or ahead of schedule,” Thurgood said. The Lakota program is directly linked to the Black Hawk program, because as the Lakotas move into units, Black Hawks can be moved out and put back into the fight.
The majority of Lakotas are going to the National Guard–210 of a total of 345, where they are replacing the aging OH-58 A and C models and the legacy UH-1 Hueys
The latest Lakota comes in five variants: standard, medical, VIP, training and the Security and Support (S&S) battalion version supporting first responders and homeland security work.
Additionally, work continues on the T701D engines for Black Hawk and Apache, Thurgood said. Over time, older engines will be replaced by the T701D, which offers more shaft horsepower.
The next engine for the fleet, the Improved Turbine Engine Program, is in science and technology development. The development program will be completed in fiscal year 2012 and come to Thurgood’s office. It will offer 3,000 shaft horsepower, more lift, and allow aircraft to go higher in hot conditions.