Marine One Replacement Preps For Initial Operational Capability.

• Author: Lee, Connie

The Marine One presidential helicopter replacement flew into the public eye after making its public debut at this year's Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C.

Based on Sikorsky's commercial S-92A Federal Aviation Administration-certified helicopter, the VH-92A is a dual-piloted twin-engine aircraft slated for initial operational capability next year.

It is designed to replace the aging helicopter fleet of Sikorsky VH-3D Sea Kings and VH-60N White Hawks that have been supporting the president since the 1970s and 1980s.

"The VH-92A aircraft will increase performance and payload over the VH-3D and VH-60N," Col. Eric Ropella, the Marine Corps VH-92A program manager, said in an email. "It will provide enhanced crew coordination systems and communications capabilities and will have improved maintainability and reliability that will reduce operating and lifecycle costs over the current fleet."

Sikorsky, which is owned by Lockheed Martin, was first awarded a $1.24 billion fixed-price incentive engineering and manufacturing development contract in 2014 for two test aircraft and four production aircraft after a high-profile and costly cancelation of a previous attempt to replace the aircraft in 2009. In June this year, the company was awarded a $542 million contract to build six helicopters for Lot 1 low-rate initial production, according to a Navy news release.

"Optimizing commercial practices, the VH-92A will provide safe, reliable and timely transportation with mission-critical communications that will support the security of our nation," James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, said in the release. "I am proud of the combined government and contractor team who has worked so hard to transition this program into initial production and did so at over $1 billion less than the program's cost baseline."

The government began pursuing a Marine One replacement--which was deemed the VH-71--when a mission needs statement was approved in 1999. A contract was awarded to a Lockheed Martin-led consortium that included AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter. However, that program was canceled in 2009 due to schedule delays, performance issues and increased cost estimates.

The VH-71 cost estimates increased from $6.5 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2009, according to the Government Accountability Office.

In 2009, then-President Barack Obama labeled the replacement effort as a program that had "gone amok,"...