In its fiscal year 2017 defense authorization proposal, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) tactical air and land forces subcommittee plans to boost procurement funding for a number of aircraft programs, including the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing [BA] F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and a selection of helicopters, it announced on Tuesday.
The HASC subcommittee also proposed boosting funding for Lockheed Martin UH-60M Black Hawks, Airbus LUH-72 Lakotas and Boeing AH-64E Apaches so that the Army National Guard (ANG) can retain four Apache battalions. Under the Army’s aviation restructure proposal, the ANG would transfer all of its Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the active Army and receive Black Hawks in return.
The subcommittee released its mark of the bill on April 19 and will amend the bill Wednesday.
Photo: Army
Committee staffers would not disclose the number of additional aircraft to be procured, but said the proposal was broadly supportive of the services unfunded priorities lists.
In the services’ fiscal year 2017 unfunded priority lists, the Air Force asked for five additional F-35As, the Navy requested two additional F-35Cs and the Marine Corps asked for an additional two F-35Bs and two F-35Cs. The Navy put 14 Super Hornets on its wishlist. The Army listed five Apaches, 24 Black Hawks and 17 LUHs.
The subcommittee did not touch the controversial Raytheon [RTN] Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) program, a member of the majority staff said, leaving the door open for the issue could come up either in markups or the chairman’s version of the NDAA, which will be released Monday. JLENS, a tethered aerostat used for missile defense, came under fire last year after it broke free and drifted from Maryland to Pennsylvania.
“There are some members that want to see the program go on and some that want to see it ended,” said a member of the minority staff.
In the text of its mark, the subcommittee gives the Defense Department the authority to procure Black Hawks and Apaches on a multi-year basis, which will help the Pentagon reap cost savings.
The proposal also calls for a number of reports meant to tighten oversight of programs. For instance, the committee would require the Navy to establish an independent review team to scrutinize data related to the increase of F/A-18 physiological events and provide its findings to Congress. It also wants a study on contractor-provided sustainment for the F-35 to look at best practices and lessons learned, a member of the majority staff said.
The full committee will mark up the NDAA in its entirety on April 27.