By Carlo Munoz
The Navy has moved a few steps closer toward establishing two new multiyear programs to support development of its MH-60 helicopter fleet, according to the senior service official overseeing the program.
DoD and service officials have already submitted the necessary justification documents for the two follow-on multiyear contracts to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, according to H-60 Program Office (PMA-299) chief Capt. Dean Peters. His comments came during an April 12 briefing at the Navy League’s annual Sea, Air and Space symposium in National Harbor, Md.
In February, Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter approved the Navy’s certification to begin the two new multiyear programs, which would guarantee production of the airframe and system components for the R and S versions of the aircraft.
Both new multiyear plans, if approved, would result in the production of 140 of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Sikorsky [UTX] -built MH- 60Rs and 65 MH-60Ss in annual 24- and 18-aircraft block buys, respectively. The Pentagon and the services are aiming to secure congressional approval for that first tranche of MH- 60S and R buys in the department’s fiscal year 2012 budget plan.
The first of the two new multiyear plans being proposed by the Pentagon and the Navy will be the follow-on to an initial systems and software integration deal inked with Lockheed Martin. That first agreement is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year, according to Peters.
At the same time, a long-standing multiyear agreement with Sikorsky, the Navy and the Army for H-60 airframe production is also set to wrap up in FY ’11. The second of the two multityear contracts will extend that agreement, and allow the helicopter manufacturing firm to continue producing airframes for the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk, as well as the R and S versions of the MH-60 for the Navy.
If approved, that airframe deal will be the eighth follow-on multiyear agreement Sikorsky has made with both services on the H-60 platform, Peters said.
While Peters noted the sea service would be sticking to the 24 and 18-aircraft buying plan for the majority of the multiyear programs, he did note that production rate could surge above that rate, once total production numbers get closer to the end goal.
“If the need were to arise…the capacity is there to build more,” he said, adding that, if necessary, the current production infrastructure could support an annual 48- helicopter rate.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates first discussed details of the H-60 multiyear extension plan during a Jan. 11 closed-door briefing about the upcoming defense budget proposal on Capitol Hill, according to sources. Gates has repeatedly touted the use of multiyear procurement plans as an effective cost-savings vehicle, especially as part of his plan to garner $100 billion in savings within DoD over the next five years (Defense Daily, Jan. 7).