VXX
( AgustaWestland VH-71A Kestrel )
On December 18 2003, the US Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Request for Proposals
to replace the 11 VH-3D Sea King and 8
VH-60N Whitehawk in the Marine One role.
The US101 variant of the european EH101 was
selected on January 2005
and awarded a $1.7 billion contract.
Based on the current contract schedule, the first VH-71A ready to transport
the President is expected to be available in 2009,
with the entire fleet of 23 helicopters delivered to the US Marine Corps squadron
HMX-1 by late 2014.
For the first time in half a century, a US presidential helicopter will be built by a company that's not
Sikorsky ( VH-34, VH-3, VH-60 and VH-53 )
Sikorsky S-92 - VH-92 Superhawk
Sikorsky added L-3 Communications , Northrop Grumman , Vought Aircraft Industries,
Rockwell Collins , General Electric and FlightSafety International to its proposal
demonstrating the "All-American" nature of the S-92 offering.
And the Winner is ...
Lockheed Martin / AgustaWestland EH101 - US101
More than 200 suppliers in 41 states support Team US101,
led by Lockheed Martin with teammates AgustaWestland and
and Bell Helicopter Textron.
Suppliers include some of America's leading aerospace companies, such as General Electric, ITT, Northrop Grumman,
Kaman Aerospace and Palomar Products.
80 Percent of the US101 Will be made in the USA and the rest will be made in England and Italy.
See Also:
The New Marine One by LT Todd Vorenkamp, USNR
Presidential VH-1N Hueys
Related News:
VH-71 test aircraft completes maiden flight Jul 05, 2007
VH-71 Begins U.S. Flight Testing Jan 10, 2008
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