Industry officials are rolling out their candidates for the Air Force’s CSAR-X—the new aircraft to replace the service’s elderly HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopters. Boeing is offering the HH-47, a version of its CH-47 Chinook helicopter, as a combat-proven technology. Lockheed Martin plans to enter the American version of the AgustaWestland EH-101, the US101, which won the Marine One contract. Sikorsky offers its HH-92 Super Hawk. The Air Force has yet to issue a formal request for proposals.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
