VH-71 Kestrel

VH-71 "Kestrel"
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VH-71 undergoing testing near the Lockheed facility in Owego, NY
Type	Executive transport helicopter
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin AgustaWestland Bell Helicopter (assembly)
Maiden flight	July 3 2007
Status	Testing
Primary user	United States Marine Corps
Developed from	AgustaWestland EH101
Variants	CH-149 Cormorant

The VH-71 Kestrel, a variant of the AgustaWestland EH101, is being developed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One Presidential transport fleet. It is being produced by the Lockheed Martin-led "US101 Team" of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter.

Development

EH101

The EH101 was developed by EH Industries, a joint venture of the British Westland Aircraft and Italian Agusta companies. The aircraft first flew on October 9, 1987, and entered service with the Royal Navy in 2000.

US101

On 23 July 2002 Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland signed a 10-year agreement to jointly market, produce and support a medium-lift helicopter, an EH101 derivative called US101, in the United States. The companies envisaged marketing the aircraft in three roles; US Air Force combat search and rescue, US Coast Guard search and rescue, and US Marine Corps executive transport.

On May 15 2003 AgustaWestland signed an agreement with Bell Helicopter to undertake final assembly of the US101 in the United States. AgustaWestland will produce the main rotor blades and main fuselage sections at its Yeovil, England facility. The company will produce other components, including the gearbox, at its Cascina Costa, Italy facility. This represents a work share of 36%. The remaining 64% work share is split between Lockheed Martin (31%) and Bell Helicopter (27%) and others (6%).

VXX competition

The U.S. Department of Defense issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on December 18, 2003 for the supply of 23 helicopters to replace the 11 VH-3Ds and 8 VH-60Ns of USMC HMX-1 squadron. This requirement was given the designation VXX (V being the prefix for VIP aircraft and XX representing the then unspecified numerical part of the designation).

Both AgustaWestland and Sikorsky responded to the RFP. Sikorsky proposed the VH-92, a variant of the H-92 Superhawk, in partnership with FlightSafety International, L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, and GE-Aviation.

On January 28, 2005 the Department of Defense announced that it had selected the US101 for the VXX programme. The US101 team was awarded a $1.7 billion contract for the VXX system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. The price of the development later rose by 40% to $2.4 billion. The full cost of the project is estimated at $6.1Bn, although some analysts expect the cost to rise above $7Bn, making this the most expensive helicopter ever, with a unit cost of $270m.

As of December 2007, the program cost ballooned to more than $11b.

Other competitions

The US101 is also competing for two USAF contracts, the 141-aircraft Combat Search and Rescue Replacement (CSAR-X) project (originally won by the Boeing HH-47 on 10 November 2006, but now subject to a second procurement competition), and the 70-aircraft Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP).

VXX program Delays/Problems

In addition to rising costs, delays and engineering issues have plagued the VH-71's development. During the ongoing CSAR-X contract controversy (in which the EH101 is LMSI's offering), the Air Force source selection authority has, on several occasions, referred to Lockheed's VH-71 program as having "unsatisfactory performance". These concerns with the VH-71 have caused the Air Force to cast doubts on LMSI's ability to supply helicopters for a potential CSAR program award; in March 2007 the initial GAO report which upheld Sikorsky and Lockheed's contract award protests versus Boeing's HH-47 mentioned "that LMSI had received a little confidence rating for past performance due to unsatisfactory performance under its current contract for the VH-71 Presidential helicopter, which was evaluated as the most highly relevant to this procurement. According to the SSA, LMSI had “show[n under that contract] that it could not reliably meet important schedule requirements and had difficulty in systems engineering flow-downs to their subcontractors.”

In December 2007, DoD officials met with the White House Military Office to discuss the VH-71 program's future, as the Pentagon apparently wished to terminate the program due to multiple setbacks, budget issues, and design problems. The White House overruled a cancellation decision and the program was essentially put on hold while options are considered.

Testing

The first test VH-71A, Test Vehicle #2 (TV2), made its initial flight on July 3, 2007 at AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, UK. Lockheed Martin is already using an EH101, designated TV-1, for initial testing in the USA, including landings on the White House lawn.

Variants

VH-71A 

VH-71B 

Specifications (EH-101)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Capacity:
  
  • 30 seated troops or
  • 45 standing troops or
  • 16 stretchers with medics
• Length: 74 ft 10 in (22.81 m)
• Rotor diameter: 61 ft 0 in (18.59 m)
• Height: 21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
• Disc area: 2992 ft² (271 m²)
• Empty weight: 23,150 lb (10,500 kg)
• Useful load: 5,443 kg (12,000 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 34,320 lb (15,600 kg)
• Powerplant: 3× General Electric CT7-8E turboshafts, 2,520 shp (1,879 kW) each

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 167 knots (192 mph, 309 km/h)
• Range: 750 NM (863 mi, 1389 km)
• Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4575 m)
• Rate of climb: 2000 ft/min (10.2 m/s)
• Disc loading: 53.8 kg/m² (11.01 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.174 shp/lb (284.9 W/kg)

External links

• Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel Video
• Lockheed Martin VH-71
• "Trouble On The Takeoff" Newsweek, November 26 2007
• "VH-71 Presidential Helicopter on Hold" Defense News

Related content

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin

Related development

• AgustaWestland EH101
• CH-149 Cormorant

Comparable aircraft

• NHI NH90
• Sikorsky S-92

Related lists

• List of helicopters
• List of military transport aircraft

See also
Template:USAF helicopters