Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has urged the Air Force to stick with DOD policy when it re-evaluates operations and support costs for the combat search and rescue helicopter program. Specifically, DeLauro wants estimates of fuel costs for each of the three contending platforms—Boeing’s HH-47, Lockheed Martin-Agusta Martin’s US101, and Sikorsky’s HH-92—to follow policy that considers “the fully burdened cost of fuel.” DeLauro made the plea in a May 11 letter to the Air Force obtained by Dow Jones Newswires. Connecticut-based Sikorsky believes that its helicopter would prove far more economical in fuel costs than the original CSAR-X winner, Boeing’s heavier HH-47, or Lockheed’s US101. On May 15, USAF issued a draft of its revised request for proposals and indicated it planned to hold discussions with each offeror.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.