WASHINGTON — The primary two field-ready MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters at the moment are in final assembly and Boeing said it expects the long-awaited delivery of the primary of those helicopters to the Air Force in mid-2024.
The sixth and final test Grey Wolf helicopter was delivered in October, the corporate said in a press release Monday, marking the tip of its research, development, test and evaluation phase and a move toward solely concentrating on production.
The Grey Wolf is slated to switch the Air Force’s fleet of 63 Vietnam War-era UH-1N Huey helicopters for security personnel to patrol the service’s nuclear missile fields and to move senior officials within the Washington area. The Air Force plans to purchase as many as 80 MH-139s, that are a militarized version of Italian aerospace firm Leonardo’s AW139 business helicopter design.
“Delivering all the RDT&E aircraft to the Air Force enables them to proceed critical operational testing and allows Boeing to give attention to constructing the primary production aircraft,” Azeem Khan, Boeing’s MH-139 program director, said within the statement. “The Grey Wolf will provide crucial national security capability improvements to the Air Force. That is a crucial step in getting the aircraft into service.”
The Air Force in March reached a Milestone C decision to maneuver forward on low-rate initial production of the Grey Wolf, and awarded Boeing and Leonardo a $285 million contract to begin constructing the primary 13 helicopters.
Leonardo starts constructing the MH-139A at its factory in Philadelphia after which moves it to Boeing’s Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, facility where it is customized for military use.
Boeing spokesman Brett Anker told Defense News the primary two production MH-139 in final assembly are still at Leonado’s facility, as the businesses ramp up work on their initial 13 helicopters. Anker said procurement and manufacturing work is already under way.
The MH-139 program has struggled lately with unexpected challenges integrating military systems on to the business helicopter platform, which caused delays that led to a schedule breach in April 2021, the Government Accountability Office said in a weapons systems assessment report this yr.
The MH-139 program also experienced delays getting vital FAA certifications, which in 2021 caused the Air Force to push procurement plans back. Program officials told GAO that the FAA certifications got here in 2022, and allowed the service to just accept the primary 4 test helicopters.
The milestone decision starting production ultimately got here a couple of yr and a half later than expected attributable to the FAA certification testing delays, GAO said.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.