Comanche helicopter7/27/2023 The ARH-70's maiden flight occurred on 20 July 2006, at Bell's XworX facility in Arlington, Texas. Bell and the Army both eventually agreed that this delay would be essential for maintaining the compressed timeline for development. The first flight was delayed, first in March and then in May, to allow Bell to configure the prototypes as preproduction aircraft. In February 2006, the ARH demonstrator flew with a limited avionics and Mission Equipment Package (MEP), and in April Bell fitted and mounted the Honeywell HTS900-2 engine to the demonstrator airframe, followed by a series of ground runs. Flight testing īell's ARH demonstrator, a modified Bell 407 (s/n 53343/N91796 ), first flew on 3 June 2005. The contract called for the development of prototypes and the delivery of preproduction aircraft to the Army for the Limited User Test (LUT), with the first unit equipped by the end of September 2008. There was some confusion as Bell figures placed the contract value at US$2.2 billion while Army estimates were over US$3 billion, compared to its earlier estimate of US$2.36 billion. The Army announced Bell as the winner of a contract for 368 helicopters on 29 July 2005. Bell Helicopter proposed an update of the OH-58D concept in a militarized version of the Bell 407, using a more powerful Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft engine, an all-composite main rotor based on the Bell 430's rotor, and the Bell 427 tail assembly.Ī Bell 407 being used for early development of the ARH-70 To alleviate this concern, Boeing purchased the production rights for the design and served as the prime contractor. (MDHI) could ramp up production to meet the contract's demands. Because the aircraft was already in service with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, it became the predictive favorite despite doubts that MD Helicopters Inc. Boeing proposed the upgraded version of the MH-6 Little Bird, the MH-6M Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB).The Army's concept would use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, with the goal of an operational unit of 30 helicopters and eight trainers ready by September 2008. The study targeted the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior for replacement based on the age of the airframes, recent losses, and a lack of replacement airframes.Īrmy officials issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the replacement aircraft as the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) on 9 December 2004. The study estimated that the Army would save US$14 billion with the cancellation, which could then be used to update and replace the aging airframes of the Army's helicopter fleet. The cancellation was a result of a six-month study which recommended canceling the program before the Comanche reached production, after 20 years and development costs of over US$6.9 billion. The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program was canceled by the U.S. The ARH-70 was touted as having been built with off-the-shelf technology, the airframe being based on the Bell 407.ĭevelopment Background and Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter competition With a crew of two and optimized for urban combat, the ARH-70 was slated to replace the Army's aging OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.Įxcessive delays and growth in program costs forced its cancellation on 16 October 2008, when the Department of Defense failed to certify the program to Congress. The Bell ARH-70 Arapaho was an American four-bladed, single-engine, light military helicopter designed for the United States Army's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program.
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