• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

ARMY ANNOUNCES INITIAL RESULTS OF AVIATION REVIEW

US Army Release

Release Date: 2/23/2004

The Army announced today the initial results of its ongoing review of Army aviation. The comprehensive review has produced several strategic recommendations that will be acted on now to ensure Army aviation meets the current and future challenges of an evolving operational environment and incorporates lessons learned from the Global War on Terrorism.

The review and lessons learned from the last two and a half years of war reinforce recent decisions to make the Army more joint and expeditionary with balanced and integrated capabilities between the Active and Reserve Components. Army formations are currently transforming into more lethal, agile, modular, strategically flexible and cohesive units that can train, deploy and fight together in full-spectrum operations.

Lessons learned and the aviation review also reemphasized the importance of maintaining versatile and survivable aviation formations that are effective in both combat and stability operations. Therefore, the Army must replace and recapitalize its current helicopter fleet to increase aircraft survivability, sustainability and operability.

Army Aviation will restructure in order to: accelerate air crew protection and Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) initiatives to meet the evolving threat and provide every aircraft with the best possible equipment; modernize approximately 1,400 helicopters to extend aviation capabilities beyond 2020; transform Reserve Component aviation; purchase approximately 800 new aircraft; accelerate the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program to add platforms that extend battlefield awareness and strengthen manned-unmanned teaming; and balance current and future Army Aviation capabilities.

The President and the Secretary of Defense have approved the Army's recommendation to submit a budget amendment to Congress for the FY '05 budget request that would allow the Army to terminate the Comanche program and reallocate approximately $14.6 billion (FY 04 - 11) to restructure and revitalize Army aviation to meet current and future needs. This important Army recommendation was made after months of comprehensive studies and consideration of numerous alternatives.

Reallocated funds and aviation restructure will also allow the Army to pursue Joint aviation programs, modularize and standardize aviation formations across the Active and Reserve Components, and accelerate the resourcing of the Army's tactical UAV programs. This also requires the industrial base to increase its production capability to meet the Army's requirements for new and modernized aircraft. The net result of this reallocation will be the new purchase, upgrade, recapitalization, or modernization of over 70 percent of the rotary winged fleet.

Strengthening Army aviation reaffirms and energizes the Army's commitment to Department of Defense and Army Transformation and Future Combat System (FCS). Using resources currently allocated for 121 Comanche platforms, the Army can accelerate transformation through the next two decades to meet its aviation needs.