The Huntsville Times February 23, 2004
Army set to kill its Comanche program
Advanced scout helicopter is managed at Redstone Arsenal
By Shelby G. Spires
The Army plans to cancel its $38 billion Comanche scout helicopter, according to news reports. Army workers in Huntsville perform software, engineering and management work on the helicopter.
According to a Reuters news story, the Department of Defense was to announce the cancellation of the Comanche program at 3:30 p.m. today. The Army manages the advanced scout helicopter program at Redstone Arsenal. The Comanche has been in development since 1983.
Army officials in Huntsville would not confirm the story this morning. "I have no official comment on the Reuters story," said Bob Hunt, Army spokesman at Redstone Arsenal. "I can't confirm it at all."
Hunt did not immediately know how many people work on the Comanche locally. The Army develops software for the Comanche at Redstone's Software and Engineering Development Center. The helicopter was supposed to rely heavily on computers, and it was designed to have the capability of four supercomputers onboard each craft. General Dynamics works on the program locally.
The move is puzzling, said John Pike, a defense expert with Washington-based GlobalSecurity.org, because "just two weeks ago the White House sent a budget request for Comanche" to Congress.
The president asked for $1.2 billion in Comanche funding for fiscal 2005. The Army has spent almost $20 billion on Comanche over the past 20 years, and the program was estimated to cost about $38 billion over the next 30 years. Initially, the Army wanted to buy 1,213 Comanches, but a Pentagon review slashed that number to 650 in October 2002.
Pike estimated the Army would continue to fly its Apache attack helicopter for years to come and launch a series of improvements to keep it flying. The Comanche was slated to take over some of the Apache missions.
"I think they are just going to keep flying the Apaches. These helicopters last forever. The airframes don't wear out," Pike said.
© Copyright 2004, The Huntsville Times
