Boeing to Bid for Presidential Helicopter Fleet ContractJune 11, 2010
 Boeing is buying the intellectual property (IP) rights from a European company, AgustaWestland, to build a midsize helicopter that could become the model for a new fleet of presidential helicopters, according to an article in The New York Times. The company plans to announce on June 14 that it will enter a bid to build the presidential helicopter fleet, a project that the Pentagon had canceled last June because of cost overruns. The previous winning bid was a partnership between Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland. Lockheed has now teamed up with Sikorsky, which previously lost the bid. With these two teams entering the competition—Boeing with rights to AgustaWestland's IP and Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky—the costs could drop. The bidding will begin next year, but the Pentagon wants preliminary information from potential bidders this month, according to the article. The contract is to build 23 to 28 helicopters for about $6 billion to $10 billion. During the previous cycle, when the project was canceled, the cost was projected to double to $13 billion for 28 helicopters. Government auditors pegged the overruns to modifications that the Bush administration added to make the aircraft more secure from terrorist attacks. The Pentagon might reduce the requirements during this new round, the Times article noted. The previous requirements included protection from chemical and biological attacks and a shield against the electromagnetic effects of a nuclear blast. The new helicopters would replace the aging fleet that ferry the president and his aides on short trips. Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky plan to offer a helicopter based on Sikorsky's H-92 medium-lift craft, while Boeing will submit its own version of AgustaWestland's AW101. The AW101 is similar to the chopper that won the earlier bid. Boeing's craft will be bigger than Sikorsky's, which was one reason it was selected earlier. Industry experts told the Times it is difficult to build a chopper that can travel 300 miles (to carry the President to the safety of a bunker) and still be small enough to land on the White House lawn without destroying it. The Navy, which operates the helicopters because they are flown by Marines, has asked the bidders for information about larger models and also models that could split day-to-day and emergency missions, according to the article. Photo Courtesy of Agusta Westland |
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