Since the Army had already purchased a substantial number of these aircraft, it is within the Army's remit, subject to DoD (Executive Branch) approval and Congressional (Legislative Branch) oversight, to repurpose the aircraft.
Seems pretty obvious this whole thing is over the fact that the Army Isn't merely repurposing the UH-72's. Its ACQUIRING an additional 155 aircraft for an additional almost $1B without ever validating a single requirement that the UH-72 can even effectively meet the IERW mission. Completely circumventing any steps in a valid acquisition. Remember, IERW was never a requirement in the LUH program for which the UH-72 was selected. Supporting Centers of Excellence (aka: ground training centers) is not the same as conducting IERW at all.
According to their website, AW's aircraft that they are pushing, AW119Kx are exclusively made in Philadelphia, so "Buy America" would only help AW in this instance, if it was a factor.
Army's twin-engine requirement
IC:
Can anyone show me what the Army's requirements for a new IERW aircraft are?
No, because they NEVER developed them that I have seen, and as of a little more than a year ago the Army said the TH-67s are good and don't need to be replaced.....
