NEWTOWN, Conn. - The Senate Appropriation Committee's recent markup of the Pentagon's FY13 spending bill recommends a reduction of $108.9 million for the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior upgrade program. The DoD requested $192.5 million for Kiowa modifications; however, the funds are not needed in FY13 since production has been delayed until FY15. The committee also recommends reducing $78.0 million and seven aircraft from the Army's Overseas Contingency Operations budget request in order to maintain FY12 production levels.
The Army is in search of a replacement for the OH-58 under its Armed Aerial Scout program. The Senate committee directs the Army to complete a planned flight demonstration and to define its planned path for the program to Congress before obligating FY13 replacement aircraft funding.
The bill also recommends reducing the MQ-1C Gray Eagle program by $104.0 million and four aircraft. The DoD had previously requested $518.1 million to procure 19 MQ-1C unmanned aircraft; however, the program has experienced several testing delays. The program also suffers from reliability issues, and the aircraft is not meeting operational availability goals.
Another $95.1 million would be cut for RQ-7 UAV modifications because the DoD has not obligated $404.0 million worth of FY11 funding or any of its FY12 funding, meaning the FY13 request would be excess funding.
Source: Forecast International - International Military Markets
Associated URL:
http://www.forecastinternational.com
Author: S. McDougall, North America Analyst
