The Comanche Helicopter Program

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In 1983 the United States began a program to upgrade the aging fleet of U.S. Army helicopters. What was initially known as the Light Helicopter Experimental (LHX), in April 1991 the LHX program would become the Reconnaissance Attack Helicopter (RAH-66). The program was initially designed to replace all light helicopters in the Army fleet, however, this was reduced to a more attainable goal of replacing the AH-1, OH-58, and OH-6 helicopters. This program greatly enhanced the capabilities of the commander on the battlefield of the future.1

The helicopter of the future would far outclass any helicopter on the planet; boasting capabilities like fly by wire controls, stealth, greater maneuverability, greater speed, and far reaching technological capabilities making it the “quarterback of the digital battlefield”-. What the Comanche program quickly turned into was an over budget, behind schedule, government project that was being built to combat an enemy that no longer existed. Technological advances found through the 6.9 billion dollars spent on the Comanche have yielded some improvements to the current fleet of Army helicopters (block III Apache), however, it could be argued that the Comanche project simply drained the military and held back the advancement of the current fleet. 2 Twenty years after the birth of the LHX, the United States had invested 6.9 Billion dollars and had two RAH-66 helicopters to show for it. In 2003, with the war on terrorism kicking off, President George W. Bush cancelled the Comanche program to better equip the U.S. Military for the fight that was ongoing.

History

U.S. strategy in 1983 toward the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. was to simply out spend the Soviet Union in the military sector. The...

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...ng”, Defense Media Network, December 16, 2010, www.defensemedianetwork.com

3. NATO’s Nations and Partners for Peace, Comanche Terminated, Air Power, 2004

4. Pelletier, A.J. “Bell Model 406/OH-58D Kiowa Warrior”, Avia Star, www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/bell_warrior.php, 1992

5. U.S. Department of Defense News Transcript. Briefing on the Restructure and Revitalization of Army Aviation, February 23, 2004

6. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General. Financial Management of the RAH 66 Comanche Helicopter Program, August 6, 1998

7. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Acquisition Management of the RAH-66 Comanche, May 12, 2003

8. Wayne, Leslie. Pentagon Says it Plans to Kill Copter Program, The New York Times, February 24, 2004

9. Werthman, Robert W, Col.. The Comanche Helicopter Program: A Strategic Policy Failure, March 30, 2007

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