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.
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
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. |
yea right, like the Iraqis can drive black hawk or whatever out US made of the box.
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@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?
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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.
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