The Air Force's nascent MH-139 Grey Wolf program is again delayed, with the helicopter now on track to enter the full-rate production phase in January 2026, an Air Force spokesperson told Inside Defense.
The new timeline is just two months to the right of the November 2025 plan described in a June Government Accountability Office report.
Originally the full-rate production decision -- or the point at which a system can be produced and fielded at its intended rate -- was planned for September 2025. But that was pushed back to November at the time to account for a delayed start of initial operational testing.
“Following the completion of initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in June 2025, the full-rate production decision is now planned for January 2026,” the spokesperson said. “This adjustment enables time for reporting IOT&E results and generating required statutory and regulatory documentation.”
IOT&E was intended to start in September 2024 but instead slipped to January 2025 after helo-maker Boeing delivered contractually required training manuals and other maintenance data six months late, according to GAO.
The new full-rate production delay doesn't appear to be linked to any past-due data from Boeing, but instead is attributed to routine documentation requirements, per the service spokesperson.
The Air Force is still trying to nail down the total number of Grey Wolves it wants to procure. Its fiscal year 2026 budget request logs the MH-139 program of record at just 56 aircraft. The Air Force would buy two helicopters next year for about $4.5 million.
The Grey Wolf will primarily be used to patrol U.S. Global Strike Command nuclear silos, replacing the Vietnam War-era UH-1N Huey. Other operations may eventually include shuttling high-ranking officials around the National Capital Region and providing the joint force with tactical airlift capabilities.
When the Air Force decided to drop the VIP transport mission in FY-25 to meet budget restrictions imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, it slashed the overall planned buy of MH-139s basically in half -- from 80 to 42 helicopters -- ultimately triggering a cost overgrowth tied to an increase in the per-tail price of each Grey Wolf.
But Pentagon officials in September 2024 indicated that to narrowly reduce the breach of Nunn-McCurdy law for the program from "critical" to "significant" status, they would revise the helicopter’s program of record in the FY-26 budget to add back 14 platforms -- bringing the new total to 56, according to a Selected Acquisition Report released that month.
That new plan brings the per-unit cost for each Grey Wolf back in line with the contract requirements, the Pentagon determined at the time, and allows the program to continue without a critical deviation.
As the FY-26 defense policy bill is being wrung out on Capitol Hill, however, Senate authorizers have proposed legislation that would restore MH-139 procurement to the original plan of 84 aircraft to fully recapitalize the Huey fleet, including for executive travel.
With separate versions of the FY-26 defense authorization bill still floating around Capitol Hill, the House and Senate are in negotiations regarding the joint legislation and are preparing to bring it to the floor for a vote in the coming weeks.