Cheney Cuts Order for New Attack Copter

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney today slashed the Army’s planned $42-billion program to build a new attack helicopter, reducing the planned purchase to 1,292 from the original plan to buy 2,096 over the coming decade.

The budget-cutting move was a financial blow to the nation’s four big helicopter companies, which have formed two teams of two companies each to compete for contracts on the light helicopter program.

In his third recent decision to sharply reduce Pentagon major weapons’ programs, Cheney said that cutting the size of the total of new reconnaissance and attack helicopters by 804 would save procurement costs by $8 billion.

But he added that his order to buy fewer helicopters each year will also add $200 million in research and development costs, for an overall saving of $7.8 billion.

Boeing Vertol, which is owned by Boeing Co., and Sikorsky Aircraft, owned by United Technologies Corp., have joined against a team of McDonnell Douglas Helicopters and Bell Helicopter Textron, owned by Textron Inc., to compete for contracts on the program.

Cheney said the so-called Light Helicopter is needed despite changes in Europe and reduced chances of war with the Soviet Union. But he said the Army will purchase only 120 a year instead of the originally planned 216.

Cheney received a letter earlier this year signed by 106 members of the House warning that a costly new attack helicopter is not needed.

The AH-64 Apache and the OH-58 Kiowah, which the new helicopters would replace, are built by McDonnell Douglas and Textron respectively.