I‘ve written about the scandal plagued CSAR-X competition here on multiple occasions, but the bottom line is that the competition to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopters has become something of an embarrassment for the Pentagon.
Boeing’s HH-47.
Last fall, Boeing’s HH-47, a new variant of the Chinook, was picked to replace the Pave Hawk, despite the fact that Boeing had been considered a long-shot to win the competition. The Air Force solicitation had called for a “medium-lift” helicopter, and you don’t get more heavy-lift than the twin rotor Chinook. The decision was ultimately overturned by the GAO, but only because it was determined that the Air Force’s “evaluation of O&S [Operations and Support] costs was inconsistent with the RFP [Request for Proposal].” So basically over a technicality. But the fact of the matter is that while the Chinook is the least risky of the three choppers bidding for the job–the other two being Sikorsky’s HH-92, which has seen limited service, and Lockheed’s US 101, which was selected as the next presidential helicopter but has been plagued by cost overruns–it has some serious deficiencies as a rescue platform. The Hill reports today that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) reiterated some of those concerns in a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. Landrieu writes about the Chinook’s performance as a search and rescue platform during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
Downwash was listed as one of four key performance parameters (KPP) in the initial solicitation, but as I wrote in a piece for THE DAILY STANDARD back in April, downwash was not evaluated in the event, and neither were other important characteristics, including acoustic signature, de-icing, field of fire, and footprint. The best analysis I’ve read of the decision to go with the Chinook (and I’m paraphrasing here) is that American pilots are rarely shot down anymore, so the versatile Chinook will offer the Air Force a greater range of capabilities in managing more frequent mission requirements, i.e. transport. But this is a rich country, and every pilot we send into harm’s way deserves to have the very best equipment that money can buy backing him up in case things go south. If the Air Force still picks the HH-47 to serve as its future CSAR platform, despite all these valid concerns, then downed airmen can add excessive downwash to their list of worries…which will already include evading the enemy. Landrieu does the Air Force a great service by raising this issue with the secretary, let’s just hope the message gets passed down the chain of command.
