House Armed Services subcommittee presses for Army aviation plan

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee is calling on the Army secretary to develop a strategic plan and modernization roadmap for Army aviation through fiscal year 2028.

Committee staff on Monday said lawmakers are concerned with the Army’s future long-range plans for heavy vertic.al lift and declined to comment on whether the subcommittee’s mark restores funding for the CH47F block 2, saying it was a table issue. The bill is slated for mark up Tuesday.

According to the subcommittee’s draft portion of the fiscal year 2020 defense policy bill, the FY-20 budget request included significant changes to the Army's aviation modernization programs and lawmakers are concerned with the absence of a strategy for both current and future capabilities.

The plan should include an assessment of all current and future Army aviation missions and missions necessary to support the national defense strategy and multi-domain operations, an analysis and budget of aviation platforms and capabilities and an analysis showing trade-offs between currently fielded sustainment and modernization capabilities, according to the draft legislation.

The subcommittee is requiring the Army secretary to provide the plan to the congressional defense committees no later than March 30, 2020.