VXX, officially the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, is a procurement program to replace aging

Marine One Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One ( HMX-1) "Nighthawks", consisting of either the larg ...

helicopters that transport the President of the United States. The current VH-3 helicopters have aging airframes, having entered service with

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

''Marine Helicopter Squadron One'' ( HMX-1) in 1963. The VH-3D replaced the VH-3A by 1976. The smaller VH-60N entered service in 1987. On 7 May 2014, it was announced that the

Sikorsky VH-92 The Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin VH-92 is an American helicopter under development to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. presidential transport fleet; it is a militarized variant of the Sikorsky S-92. Design and development S ...

had won the VXX competition.

History

The

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

on the U.S. led to widespread agreement that the Marine One helicopter fleet needed significant upgrades to its communication, transportation, and security systems. But these could not be made due to the weight already added to the aircraft.GAO-11-380R, "Defense Acquisitions: Application of Lessons Learned and Best Practices in the Presidential Helicopter Program"
p. 2. Government Accountability Office. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 25 March 2011. Accessed 9 September 2013. In 2002, it was proposed to replace the current helicopters. The

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the VXX helicopter on 18 December 2003 for the supply of 23 helicopters to replace the eleven VH-3Ds and eight

VH-60N The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

s of USMC HMX-1 squadron. In November 2002, the White House asked the Secretary of Defense to accelerate the development of the new aircraft, and DOD said it would have a new aircraft ready by the end of 2008. To do so, DOD asked bidders to begin development and production at the same time.Aitoro, Jill R
"Failed Helicopter Program, Revisited."
''Washington Business Journal'', 28 March 2011. Accessed 9 September 2013.

AgustaWestland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccanica ...

and Sikorsky responded to the RFP. Sikorsky proposed the VH-92, a variant of the H-92 Superhawk. On January 28, 2005 the Department of Defense announced that it had selected the US101 for the VXX program. The US101 team was awarded a US$1.7 billion contract for the VXX system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. The

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

and

AW101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requiremen ...

-based US101 bid was given the military designation

VH-71 Kestrel The Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel was a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly the EH101) that was being manufactured to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. Presidential transport fleet. Originally marketed for vario ...

in mid-2005. The replacement cost of the fleet was estimated at $6.1 billion when the VH-71 contracts were signed in 2005. However, by March 2008 the cost of the new 28 helicopter fleet was projected to total US$11.2 billion, or roughly US$400 million per helicopter. Political controversy began in February 2009 amid calls for fiscal restraint, and, as a result, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

announced that he had instructed Defense Secretary

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

to review the helicopter situation and on 6 April 2009, Gates announced the ending of VH-71 funding, after nine aircraft had already been built at a cost of about US$600 million each. In February 2010, the U.S. Navy issued a request for information (RFI) to the aviation industry. Responses would be used to restart the VXX contest. In April 2010, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin announced they would team in offering the

VH-92 The Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin VH-92 is an American helicopter under development to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. presidential transport fleet; it is a militarized variant of the Sikorsky S-92. Design and development S ...

. In June, Boeing announced it was considering a licensed version of the

AgustaWestland AW101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

, on which the VH-71 was based, to be built in the United States. Boeing was also considering the

Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...

and

Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...

for the presidential VXX program. Whichever platform were picked would be expected to be delivered between 2017 and 2023. On November 23, 2012,

Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the successor to the ...

released a draft request for proposals for a new VXX program. The new requirements lowered the number of people the helicopter had to carry, shortened its range, and simplified its communications. By mid-2013, Boeing, Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland declined to take part in the project. Only Sikorsky seemed likely to bid on the VXX contract.Drew, Christopher. "Few Suitors to Build a New Marine One". ''The New York Times'', 29 July 2013. On 7 May 2014, the Navy announced that the

had won the VXX competition, ahead of other potential competitors who decided not to submit a proposal. Subsequent to the VXX competition affairs, in November 2015, Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Marine One
''Popular Science'' article on Marine One
Military aircraft procurement programs of the United States

History

See also

References

External links