US buys Russian helicopters
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: 1 Dunghill Mansions, Putney
Posts: 1,797
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Originally Posted by rotor-rooter
What an utter, inept, failure. Of course, it will all be swept under the carpet and no-one will ever be held accountable.
- The purchase of Mi-17s for Iraq and Afghanistan was kicked off in 2006, with the controversial $322 million contract to ARINC awarded in December 2007
- The State Department's S-61T buy was specifically undertaken in an attempt to reduce reliance on Mi-8/17s (after extensive lobbying by Sikorsky and its Congressional delegation)
- The S-61T program was wound up as a direct result of the USA's 2014 Afghanistan drawdown
Still, Sikorsky does now stand to benefit from the decision announced last November to end any further Mi-17 purchases for Afghanistan, which will now receive refurb'd UH-60A Black Hawks instead.
Regardless, the U.S. Govt will remain one of the biggest operators of Mi-8/17s, which have been operated by various TLAs for decades. AFM ran an interesting piece in May 2014, in which it identified 50 or so Hips in U.S. service.
I/C
From the report linked by rotor-rooter
I wonder if those UH-60As, refurb'd, will go through an A-L mod or remain in the A configuration. There's a difference in Max Gross Weight of 1700+ pounds. (At least according to the little cheat sheet I keep from an old Sikorsky blurb on A, L, and M).
Along with the increased expense and difficulty in maintaining the Mi-17 helicopter fleet, utility helicopters are in high demand and the required maintenance exceeds current capacity and capability, leading to maintenance backlogs and a reduced number of aircraft available. Included in the recapitalization effort is an initiative to transition the force away from Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters to more reliable, cost-effective, and easier to sustain U.S.-made UH-60 helicopters.
@Mee3: This has to do with Afghanistan, not Iraq. With the combined brevity and incoherence of your post, would you please explain just what it is that you mean?
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: 1 Dunghill Mansions, Putney
Posts: 1,797
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Originally Posted by Lonewolf_50
I wonder if those UH-60As, refurb'd, will go through an A-L mod or remain in the A configuration.
The Black Hawks to be delivered to the Afghan army will be UH-60A+s, with a lighter airframe than the UH-60A but fitted with the General Electric T700-GE-701C engines that equip the heavier UH-60L. The Pentagon says this model is more appropriate for Afghanistan's climate and terrain.
I was thinking of the IDGB that came into vogue when the Navy got the Seahawk based on the S-70/UH-60 design. That gear box upgrade (IIRC) informed the improvements to the UH-60L gear box .... anyway, Ian, thanks for the link. I suspect most of the upgrade work will take place in CONUS so that conversion job looks to be spreading some DoD dollars to various districts.