Economic Recovery has come to the White House, according to the speculated $1.2 Billion in costs for the latest planned upgrade for presidential helicopters announced by the Defense Department.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Economic Recovery has come to the White House, according to the speculated $1.2 Billion in costs for the latest planned upgrade for presidential helicopters announced by the Defense Department.

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo 050521-N-0295M-097 [1] from the USMC website [2]
A U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky VH-3D Sea King helicopter, assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 (HMX-1), in flight over Washington D.C. on 21 May 2005.
By : PH2(AW) Daniel J. McLain
Wikimedia.org

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Monday, 12 May 2014 09:47

$1.2 Billion for New White House Helicopters Just the Beginning

Written by Bob Adelmann

It didn’t take long for critics to scoff at the costs of the latest effort to upgrade the fleet of presidential helicopters announced by the Defense Department on Wednesday, May 7. They say the $1.2-billion contract awarded to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation will be just the beginning.
There are at least two reasons to be skeptical: the open-ended nature of the White House requirements, and recent history.
The Department of Defense outlined its requirements, stating that Marine Helicopter Squadron One, which currently operates 19 presidential helicopters, must provide "safe and timely transportation for the President and Vice President of the United States, heads of state and others as directed by the White House Military Office."

In addition, each aircraft must be equipped with various self-defense features such as bulletproof glass and body panels, as well as specialized communications equipment that allows the president to maintain “critical command functions” while airborne. Each helicopter must be large enough to carry up to 14 passengers and several thousand pounds of baggage while being small enough to operate from the White House lawn.

Each must have a minimum range of 300 miles and carry a full complement of defensive countermeasures to thwart heat-seeking and radar-directed missiles and also be hardened against an EMP (electromagnetic pulse), either from an enemy or from the sun. It must be able to send and receive encrypted communications and hold secure teleconferences while in flight.
And each must have air-conditioning and a toilet.
Under the contract Sikorsky promises to deliver two prototypes by 2016, with another 21 fully operational aircraft six years later.
Several questions arise. First, why so many? After all, there’s just one president and one vice president. According to Helimart.com, anytime the president flies somewhere by helicopter, four other helicopters are alongside him. They fly in varying formations to keep the president's aircraft as disguised as possible. This is often referred to as the presidential “shell game.” In addition, with a helicopter's range of just 300 miles, a longer trip must “cache” additional aircraft along the route.

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