House panel wants requirements analysis on munitions for Marine Corps attack helicopters

A House panel is calling on the Navy to produce a requirements analysis of possible munitions it could employ on Marine Corps attack helicopters.

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee's mark of the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill includes a provision calling for the Navy secretary to brief the full committee about munitions for the Marine Corps' AH-1Z Viper and AH-1W Super Cobra no later than Jan. 15, 2021.

As part of the briefing to lawmakers, the Navy's top civilian should discuss "vertical lift munitions capabilities gaps and potential commercial-off-the-shelf solutions that could serve as an interim solution for meeting future Department of the Navy vertical lift demands," according to the subcommittee's mark.

"The briefing should include an analysis of requirements and costs to test any relevant domestic or allied commercial-off-the shelf munitions from an AH-1W SuperCobra or AH-1Z Viper Marine Corps attack helicopter," the draft of the mark continues.

The House Armed Services Committee is conducting its subcommittee mark-ups of the FY-21 policy bill this week. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved its defense policy legislation earlier this month but has yet to release the text of the bill.