Perhaps this is what Darren999 means by "moving along nicely...."
Sound familiar?
DOD Estimates New Air Force, Navy Helo Programs Will Cost $15 Billion
Posted on InsideDefense.com: September 18, 2014
The Defense Department estimates two new acquisition programs -- the Combat Rescue Helicopter and Presidential Helicopter Fleet Replacement, both awarded to Sikorsky earlier this year -- will cost a combined $15 billion to develop and acquire, lifting planned U.S. military spending on Sikorsky products from $38 billion to more than $53 billion, a 38 percent increase.
On Aug. 13, the Defense Department provided Congress initial Selected Acquisition Reports for four new major defense acquisition programs, disclosing for the first time an estimated $9.8 billion price tag for the Air Force's Combat Rescue Helicopter and a $5.2 billion tab for the Navy's Presidential Helicopter Fleet Replacement program, according to figures provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In May, after a major effort to overhaul and scale back the program's requirements, the Navy tapped sole-bidder Sikorsky to build a new presidential helicopter replacement fleet based on the S-92 aircraft, awarding a $1.2 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract to provide six test aircraft, four of which will be part of an eventual 21-aircraft operational fleet. According to figures provided by OSD, the Navy estimates the new effort -- currently dubbed VXX -- will cost $5.184 billion to develop and procure.
In June, the Air Force formally selected Sikorsky to replace its aging HH-60G Pavehawk combat search and rescue helicopters with a derivative of the UH-60M Black Hawk, awarding the aircraft maker an initial $1.28 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract. Sikorsky, teamed with Lockheed which will provide major subsystems, is slated to build a fleet of 112 of the new aircraft.
-- Jason Sherman