Originally Posted by
NutLoose
They have probably got savvy after awarding the UH-72 Lakota helicopter contract to what was EADS US and is now Airbus Helicopters based on the EC-145 Civilian model, now 450 odd helicopters in and all delivered on budget and on time. Not only that, but where as in the past the US would fund and pay for the development of midlife update and modernisation programmes, these costs are covered by Airbus through their normal development of the Civilian model.
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I am not sure that this is a representative example as the UH-72 is basically the civilian helicopter with a new paint job because it is not being used operationally, only as a trainer. Fixed price contracting becomes a lot more problematical when bespoke military requirements are called for to enable operational capabilities. Nevertheless it is still encouraging to see contracting done right for a change.
When Canada upgraded the C130 fleet to the J model the then Chief of the Defense Staff insisted that Canada would buy a bog standard USAF airframe. There was extreme push back from inside the Air Force good idea club who had all sorts of reasons why it had to be "Candain-ized.". CDS ignore all the advice and the result was new C 130 J airframes on time and thanks to a favorable currency fluctuation significantly under budget. Fast forward a few years and the CDS has retired when it is time to buy some new Chinooks. This time the idea that Canada get the stock US Army CH-47F airframe is ignored and after they are Canadian-ized on a cost plus basis, the unit cost is 75% higher than the US Army is paying..... .