Military Helicopter Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Publication Date: June 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Military and defense

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Abstract:

Recent military operations, particularly those in Afghanistan and Iraq, have brought to the fore a number of outstanding questions concerning helicopters in the U.S. armed forces, including deployability, safety, survivability, affordability, and operational effectiveness. These concerns are especially relevant, and made more complicated, in an age of "military transformation," the "global war on terrorism," and increasing pressure to rein in funding for the military, all of which provide contradictory pressures with regard to DOD's large, and often complicated, military helicopter modernization efforts. Despite these questions, the military use of helicopters is likely to hold even, if not grow. This report includes a discussion of the evolving role of helicopters in military transformation.

The Department of Defense (DOD) fields 10 different types of helicopters, which are largely of 1960s and 1970s design. This inventory numbers approximately 5,500 rotary-wing aircraft, not including an additional 144 belonging to the Coast Guard, and ranges from simple "utility" platforms such as the ubiquitous UH-1 "Huey" to highly-advanced, "multi-mission" platforms such as the Air Force's MH53J "Pave Low" special operations helicopter and the still-developmental MV-22B "Osprey" tilt-rotor aircraft.

Three general approaches can be taken to modernize DOD's helicopter forces: upgrading current platforms, rebuilding current helicopter models (often called recapitalization), or procuring new models. These approaches can be pursued alone, or concurrently, and the attractiveness or feasibility of any approach or combination of approaches depends largely on budgetary constraints and operational needs. In some cases, observers argue that upgrades to helicopter sub-systems, especially radar, communications, and targeting systems, are the most cost effective way to satisfy current helicopter requirements. Others argue that while upgrades are cost effective in some cases, today's helicopters are sufficiently aged to require re-building, a more involved modernization approach.

The modernization programs outlined in this paper suggest a number of issues that may compete for congressional attention. These issues include 1) budgetary concerns (Helicopter modernization plans and programs described in this paper would account for approximately $34.6 billion in spending between FY2005 and FY2009), 2) impact on overall force structure, 3) whether there is adequate coordination among the Services, 4) how modernization may effect the helicopter industrial base, and 5) a number of operational considerations such as whether the envisioned programs will adequately improve operational shortcomings identified in recent conflicts such as deployability, reliability, and survivability.

This report will be updated as events warrant.