Here we go again with the liberal ABC press calling this a "mistake". Do a little reasearch and see how much government equipment requires retrofitting after the fact. Its a common practice. It doesn't make it a mistake.

This is typical Army BS! They want this helicopter no matter what. I can't imagine why, but they do. It can't carry a stretcher AND a medic, but they'll fix that? How, by making it bigger? That's the only way to do that. It can't lift the buckets needed to fight fires - unless the buckets are only 1/3 full. And it doesn't have adequate air conditioning - but they'll improve that. Never mind that doing so will further reduce its lifting capability. Hey, but they're getting a great deal on the price! Who cares if it's usefull or not, we're getting a great deal! Whoever is responsibe for this mess should be court-martialed.

If I put a nice liberal "Oh, the government is so bad!!!" comment, will you actually post it?

Bob, if they stipulated the things they needed in the original design, it probably would have doubled the price. Getting them "as is" and retrofitting them for a mere $10M is probably saving money.

Once again, the news media isn't interested in the truth - just warping the facts. Funny how they never do that on liberal issues.

Get the price down so we can get it approved...then we will come back later and spend millions more to make the %^&* thing work. The spending practices of the Pentagon are shameful !!

I would like to know why we are purchasing our military equipment from a European contractor instead of a US one. Aren’t jobs here in the US as important if not more to help in keeping our economy flowing in a positive cash flow? Oh yeah, that’s right our European counterparts are smarter and more efficient and cheaper than American workers. That's right there is more craftsmanship and pride in the work they do over there than here in the US. I've got to say that I am tired of seeing us outsource our jobs overseas; I am in no way saying that anyone else is not capable of doing a very good job, nor am I saying that our overseas counterparts are less intelligent. I am simply saying that I believe we have the resources and the capabilities to do that job here in the United States. If the aircraft is not suitable to Army specifications then why in the world are we going to buy them? And why didn’t we use that money to spur corporate competition for a product that would do everything we need it to do? Such as the X prize foundation did in 2004 by offering up 10 million dollars to the winning team. This gives us the potential to benefit not only humanity in general but also our brave men and women in uniform that deploy all over the world.
There are so many questions and never enough time to go through the list to get an answer.
Well at least the American flag and our currency is still made here in the USA. (So far)
TR92

NeoSycophanticus puts off more smoke than heat, and no light at all. The report describes a what we used to call a "Loach". It could carry a pilot and a walky-talky in extreme discomfort and do a fine job of scouting. Why do we need 322 of them with air conditioning if they don't work adequately in hot places?

Tony,
Did you read the last paragraph of the article where it says the choppers are built in Columbus, Mississippi? Doesn't that qualify as American jobs?

Bob, where does it say that the chopper cannot carry a medic and a stretcher?

Why do people jump to conclusions without reading the facts and realizing that such a short article is most likely missing a lot of facts?

As a former Federal Procurement Officer Major McCuin is correct that the procurement system is a complicated business, unfortunately its also wrought with politics, favortism and the Industrial Complex of companies who are in the business for profit while the military is not a profit motivated entity. Many factors contribute to conflicts of interest within and outside the procurement system. The engineers and requiring agency (customer) is responsibile for writing the specifications for procurement, not the other way around. Additionally, some yahoo with oak leafs on their sleeve may not have the position and power to decide yet does not have the technical know how to accept or reject an unacceptable product.

Having a couple of thousand combat assault hours behind me in a Huey, I can not think of one thing, other than armament that is more important than load capability, particularly when too many scared infantryment are trying their best to exit a hot landing zone....the only thing this aircraft has going for it is the site of manufacture. I, for one, am not interested in strengthening the Euro.

As an ex-Army helicopter pilot with more than 5,000 hours of wjich 1,368 were in combat, every new helicopter has deficiencies. The Huey started as an "A" model with a turbine engine prone to hot starts and under powered. Then came the B, C, D, and H models. I have flown them all and know the improvements each represents, yet they all performed their mission. Every helicopter design represents a compromise and with experience each will be improved. The same statement is applicable to weapons systems. Get over it.

The Huey Cobra was initially plagued with tail rotor failures. It was later fixed. All aircraft go through improvement upgrades, for it is the nature of the beasts.

Anything built by human hands is going to have issues, fair enough. The real question is why do we need this particular helicopter? What can the Lakota do that those in our current inventory can't?

Hey ABC, quit writing false and misleading headlines...this is not a "billion dollar chopper"...get it right...the entire program will cost $2.61 billion for the entire order of 100 birds....and Kirk is correct...

This is like the USMC and its "hell bent for leather" attitude on the V22 Osprey from Boeing-Bell. They are buying despite all of its negatives, i.e it can't autorotate below 1700 ft, it can't carry a defensive weapon, the pilot is prohibited from making rapid flight control manuevers for fear of the a/c going un-stable. 22 Marines were kiled in an accident when the pilot made a sudden manuever.
The Lakota and the V22 are going to cost a lot in lives and maintenance.
The Lakota, like the V22, has had the specs "changed" so it can meet them.
DOD is buying the Eurocopter for the Presidental fleet, but it is having problems and the program has been moved to the "right" so the specs can be changed. In spite of the contract being awarded based on the original specs that it couldn't meet.
It's no wonder our taxes are so high what with all the "politics" involved in procuring new equipment for the military.

Just like the Osprey- someone [or somebodies] lining their pockets with the blood of American troops... The Huey was a proven design, let's improve upon that 'whopper'!

There is one very simple reason (Tony Rizo)why the US Army is buying European designed helicopters; as is the US Marine Corps.

They make better helicopters and their rotary wing technology is a generation ahead of anything American helicopter manufacturers are producing.

The EH/US/AW101 or Merlin as the British Armed Forces call it, (for example), is the best medium lift helicopter in the world today. Westland have been at the cutting edge of rotary blade design for years.

The BERP blades are more aerodynamically efficient than anything Sikorsky, Kaman or Bell have produced and key for a military helicopter is significantly quieter.

The basic air frame of the Lakota is the EC145, developed from the MBB BK117. It is used across the world especially as a light rescue helicopter. The basic EC-145 can carry up to two stretchers and three medical staff.

We have to get off our high horses about non-American helicopters. Since the Vietnam War and with the exception of the Apache, the US has been slipping backwards in this field every year.

Biggest comparison seems to be between the Huey / Lakota. Better fuel efficiency, range, speed, altitude capability, airframe / technology that isn't 45 years old. Don't forget about the maintenance costs / hours per flight hour the Huey has.

Remember, this is for non-combat ops. Realistically, how often do they need to medevac more then 2 pax at a time?

"Tony,
Did you read the last paragraph of the article where it says the choppers are built in Columbus, Mississippi? Doesn't that qualify as American jobs?"

Sean, you're absolutely right; I was blinded by the name "Eurocopter, a European defense contractor"

I couldn't agree more with the fact that this is a short article and there is missing information.

However, I still stand by my statement "There are so many questions and never enough time to go through the list to get an answer."

I just hope that the people that are making the decisions are doing the absolute best that they can.

TR92