U.S. Army Aviation Faces Budget Cuts As Military Contracts

Program Executive Officer Says Budget Reductions Are Inevitable

The Army's Program Executive Officer for Aviation Maj. Gen. William "Tim" Crosby said in a speech last week that the Army aviation program has already taken some deep budget cuts, though not as deep as some other programs.

But, he said, additional cuts are coming as Congress and the President look for additional savings and the economy continues to be sluggish. "Our country's in a jam. ... And so as the nation struggles economically, then we're going to have to do our fair share," he said.

al.com reports that Crosby said aviation is the largest budget in the Army, and that "we've got to be realistic and make the hard decisions. And we owe our leadership recommendations that understand the strategic position that they are in."

Crosby said that the only thing that the Army is buying "new" are UAVs. He said the service is still flying the first Chinook that it ever acquired, and that other helicopters such as Kiowas and Apaches are still flying at record-setting paces. But he said that the Army needs to be working on the next generation of aircraft, what it calls Future Vertical Lift. He said that the program will first focus on a utility/attack aircraft, and that a prototype could be flying by 2030. He also said the Army needs a follow-on to the Kiowa scout helicopter, but it is a lower priority.

Source: Tue, Mar 27, 2012 (peoavn.army.mil)

Photo: U.S. Army Aviation Helicopters

(3/27/2012)