Cost Dispute Threatens U.S. Armed Recon Helo Program

摘要

A disagreement between U.S. Army and Bell Helicopter officials over how much it will cost to build the first lot of ARH-70A armed reconnaissance helicopters again has that critical program in the congressional hot seat. Army and Bell leaders in early May said the program had a solid plan for recovery backed by top Army, Pentagon and congressional officials. "Now we have to execute," said Col. Keith Robinson, the Army's armed scout helicopter manager, at the time. By July 9 the Army was telling Congress the program's costs had increased so much they had breached the limits of the Nunn-McCurdy Act for containing defense cost overruns. The Army said costs had risen more than 25 percent from a July 26, 2005 baseline for two reasons. Labor and material costs to complete the prototypes "were significantly higher than previously projected," it said, and labor rates and overheads were rising faster than projections. Bell officials said average ARH-70A unit costs had not increased above the $9.5 million set in April 2007, when the program last survived a threat of execution.