HH-60W achieves IOC, Air Force says

The Air Force declared initial operational capability for the HH-60W Jolly Green II Combat Rescue Helicopter, according to a press release from Lockheed Martin, achieving a major milestone for a program that officials are seeking to truncate.

Built by Lockheed subsidiary Sikorsky, the HH-60W is planned to recapitalize the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk. The Air Force originally planned to procure up to 113 of the helicopters when it inked a deal with Sikorsky in 2014, but the service’s fiscal year 2023 budget request revised the program’s total estimated acquisition to just 75.

Officials cited potential engagements in Europe or the Pacific, rather than traditional counterinsurgencies, as a reason for completing the buy of the helicopter in FY-23 and searching for alternative solutions for combat rescue in more contested environments.

Congress has since pushed back against the Air Force’s plans, with Senate authorizers and appropriators both indicating they would double procurement of the helicopter to 20 in FY-23. House authorizers would keep the production line for the helicopter open and lawmakers would mandate as well that the Air Force provide a report on the aircraft’s acquisition strategy to the relevant defense committees.

The drop in procurement has also forced officials to& confront a cost breach for the program, since the total development cost will now be spread over a much smaller number of aircraft. A Selected Acquisition Report on the HH-60W released by the Defense Department last month indicated that the unit cost climbed 19% above the FY-19 objective, triggering a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach whose threshold was 15%.

The helicopter first entered initial operational test and evaluation in March after delaying a start to the phase in summer 2021. The IOC milestone will now give officials leeway to move toward a full-rate production decision, which the HH-60W SAR says is planned for next month, and eventually reach full operational capability.

Sikorsky has so far delivered 24 of the helicopters to the Air Force, according to the press release. The Lot 4 contract awarded in February 2022 covers 14 of the aircraft, the statement adds, and the Air Force is expected to award the Lot 5 contract for 10 or more helicopters in 2023.