Last fall, Boeing's H-47 Chinook was a surprise winner in
a
contest to supply 140 rescue choppers to the Air Force to replace old
HH-60s.
Rivals Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin didn't hesitate to protest the
decision,
claiming that the government's offical request specified a "medium"
helicopter, which the big lumbering Chinook ain't. Pending review of
the
protests, the Pentagon ordered Boeing to stop working on the H-47; now
the
Government Accountability Office has weighed in, Defense News reports:
GAO recommended that the Air Force change the proposal request, “reopen discussions with offerors, and then request revised proposals. If the evaluation of revised proposals results in a determination that Boeing’s proposal no longer represents the best value to the government, the agency should terminate its contract,” said a public GAO document. The decision also recommends that Sikorsky and Lockheed be reimbursed by the Pentagon for the cost of filing the protest.
While the Chinook is a cheap, battle-tested bird with a big cabin and powerful engines, it is pretty big compared to competitors such as the Merlin and the S-92. And size can mean vulnerability, as I explained over at Military.com:
Trading up to a bigger bird has drawbacks, says one member of the Air Force rescue community. Due to its size, the HH-47 is "a tailor-made [Rocket-Propelled Grenade] target," says the airman, who requested anonymity since he is not authorized to speak to the press. "It's big and can't maneuver quickly, making it easier to hit by the skilled RPG gunners we face in Afghanistan and Iraq. The smaller, more maneuverable aircraft ... are better able to defensively maneuver to complicate the targeting efforts of our enemies. If you scour the news reports of helicopter shoot-downs in Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll see that most were caused by small arms or RPGs or both -- and many of those were -47s, including the famous SEAL incident last summer. The -47 is also louder, which gives those gunners more warning that we're coming."
Chinooks in Iraq usually operate only at night after one Chinook was shot down in broad daylight in 2003, killing 15 soldiers. Another 17 people were killed in the June 2005 downing of a Chinook in Afghanistan -- the "SEAL incident" the airman refers to.
"Since it is so big, [the HH-47] can't fit into nearly as many [Landing Zones] as the -60, -92 or -101," the airman continues. "What this means is that the helo will have to hover and use the hoist or some other means to extract the isolated person. A helicopter in hover is the most vulnerable any aircraft can be, so it's no surprise that crews ... prefer to land, but the -47 will limit their options in this regard. Alternatively, the survivors would have to evade to a large LZ, placing them at greater risk of being captured or killed."
--David Axe, cross-posted at War is Boring
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