The House Appropriations Committee recommends adding $20 million to Army accounts to help the land force solve the problems of helicopters coping with degraded visual environment such as heavy dust or brownouts that cause fatal accidents.
The draft report on the House version of the FY ’15 Defense Appropriations Bill recommends an additional $20 million to support the Army’s operational testing of counter degraded visual environment equipment.
Flight operations in a degraded visual environment have been blamed for the loss of aircraft and personnel.
“Additionally, despite the improvements in pilot assist devices that are available on newer aircraft, a significant part of the helicopter fleet is older and does not have the upgrades to assist with the effects of a degraded visual environment,” the report said.
Photo: U.S. Army
The report cited a 2009 Defense Department report that was updated in 2012, which said 70 percent of fatalities and 80 percent of aircraft losses resulted from serious accidents that “were not the result of hostile fire, but rather wire strikes, engine failures, and brownouts.”
The HAC report said it understands the Army is ready to conduct operational field testing on various products to assist flight crews during situations of degraded visual environment.
The report would direct the Secretary of the Army to provide a report to the congressional defense committees not later than 120 days after the bill becomes law on the Army’s expenditure plan of the funds provided to assist the Army with the degraded visual environment challenge.