The Navy has issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the next presidential helicopter in the latest effort to replace the aging fleet of aircraft known under the call sign “Marine One.”
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) published the draft RFP recently for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VXX) with plans to eventually procure 23 of the new helicopters, Navy spokeswoman Capt. Cate Mueller said.
“The scope of the draft RFP is for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the program, to include three EMD aircraft and four flight test articles, and production options to achieve a total inventory of up to 23 aircraft,” she said in a statement.
The VXX program is designed to replace the VH-3 Sea Kings and smaller VH-60 Whitehawks that have been used by the Marine Corps to ferry presidents for decades. Both are built by Sikorsky, a division of United Technologies [UTX]. The final RFP is be issued by the end of March, NAVAIR said in the draft.
Several companies are expected to be in the running for the contract. Sikorsky will offer its baseline S-92 airframe along with partner and systems integrator Lockheed Martin [LMT], spokesman Frans Jurgens said.
“Together with our teammate Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky will offer a version of our proven S-92 helicopter to deliver safe, secure and reliable transportation for the office of the president,” Jurgens said.
Northrop Grumman [NOC] and AgustaWestland, a unit of Finmeccanica, announced a partnership in September that will be based on AgustaWesrtland’s AW 101 airframe. And Boeing [BA] is expected to compete with either its H-47 Chinook airframe or the V-22 Osprey it currently builds with Bell Helicopter, a Textron [TXT] company.
“Boeing is currently reviewing the requirements outlined in the Department of Navy’s draft RFP for the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VXX) against the capabilities and specifications of the H-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey,” spokesman Damian Mills said.
Boeing and Bell are already supplying the tilt-rotor V-22s to carry equipment or White House staff for the Marine helicopter squadron that flies the president. They are expected to enter service this summer, Mills said.
A previous Marine One replacement program was canceled in 2009 by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates after it fell under heavy criticism for anticipated cost overruns and delays, ending a process that had begun six years earlier.