In February, the White House queried the secretary of defense about placing the project on hold or canceling it in view of its high cost. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates deleted VH-71 funding from his proposed defense budget in April, and on June 1 the USN formally announced that the Lockheed Martin contract had been cancelled, and that the funds would be reinvested in upgrades to the existing fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters.

While the VH-71 program was surely a victim of spiraling cost and its high political profile, engineering and design problems created delays and eroded confidence in the project to the point that DoD had pushed its cancellation as far back as December 2007. The cancellation has implications for Lockheed’s potential CSAR-X bid (which uses an EH101 derivative) once that troubled program eventually resumes. In July, Lockheed Martin announced the termination of 600 employees in response to the program cancellation.

However, on July 22 the House Appropriations Committee authorized $485 million, essentially to make five VH-71s operational. Approval must still come from the full House, Senate, and president, but a group of representatives, bolstered by a report from the Congressional Research Service, argues that killing VH-71, funding older platforms and re-starting a new Marine One replacement program would be considerably more expensive than continuing with the planned acquisition.

Acquisition and deployment of the CH-47F Chinook went forward as the year opened, with delivery of the first F model manufactured under a five year contract awarded by the Army in August 2008. The aircraft, the first of a possible 215 new Chinooks, was delivered to the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C. Company B, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade became the fourth Army unit to field the CH-47F. The first F model Chinooks deployed to Iraq with the Fourth Infantry Division in July 2008. Likewise, CH-47Fs with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade deployed to Afghanistan in late spring.

Fielding of the F model came as Boeing began racking up foreign orders, signing a contract to provide 16 Chinooks to the Italian army in May, receiving requests for up to 15 more from Australia and Egypt, and inking a $1.15 billion contract with the Canadian government for 15 aircraft in August. With its digital avionics and flight control system, the F is reportedly performing well in both theaters, enhancing situational awareness and enabling mission capability in poor weather conditions. The company’s grounded RAF Chinook Mk.3 model (which experienced software problems) successfully completed its intial flight test phase in June as part of the RAF/Boeing “reversion” program. Boeing will put either the CH-47F or its V-22 forward for a relaunched CSAR-X program once the Pentagon completes its CSAR analysis and issues a request for proposals.

On the other side of the U.S. heavy lift house, the Navy/Marines’ CH-53K overcame early year weight and center of gravity issues as its development continued. The Navy’s selection of Rockwell Collins’ Common Avionics Architecture System was viewed favorably both for its commonality with Army helicopters and its capacity to cost-effectively accommodate future system upgrades. With August came testing of the first 7,500 shp-class GE38-1B engine for the aircraft, and acknowledgement that the deployment date for the first CH-53K operational unit will slip from FY 2015 to “early 2016.” Development problems with the helicopter’s split-torque main gearbox and main rotor blade are the source of the delay. The schedule shift falls short of exceeding “baseline parameters” for the program budget, the USMC said. The next milestone for the 205-unit CH-53K program will be its critical design review, scheduled for the second quarter of FY 2010.

In May the Army launched Army Aviation Study II, the first major review of its aviation needs since the previous study led to canceling the Sikorsky/Boeing RAH-66 Comanche. The new study will review the findings of the first, whose results kicked off a wave of modernization programs funded with the Comanche’s $14.6 billion budget. Lt. Gen. James Thurman, the Army’s deputy chief of staff, says the new study will “ensure we get it right” with ongoing programs like EADS North America’s UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopter and the CH-47F Chinook. The review will also assess the failure of the ARH-70 and the Army’s control of the Joint Cargo Aircraft. Progress with the Boeing AH-64D Apache Block III will no doubt come under review, and there was indeed progress to report.

Block III inprovements include some 25 technology insertions aimed at extending the Apache’s sensor range in all domains, paired with extended range weapons like the Joint Common Missile. Open systems architecture and “Level IV” control of UAVs from inside the helicopter are complemented by hardware upgrades, including up-rated engines and a new composite rotor blade.