Army may stop Textron helicopter program

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc.’s armed reconnaissance helicopter program could be terminated, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said last week.
The aircraft is projected to cost 43 percent more than planned, an increase which requires senior Pentagon officials to certify to Congress that the program is vital to national security.
One “possible option’’ is terminating the $6.27 billion program if it’s not certified, Boyce told reporters at a Pentagon briefing in which three Army officials discussed the cost growth. Boyce said the Army asked that the certification review be completed by September.
The estimated cost to develop and produce each helicopter has increased to $12.26 million from $8.55 million in 2005 when the program began, according to a summary given to senior Army and Pentagon officials after a July 2 program review.
The program managed by Textron’s Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter unit escaped termination last year on Army promises to control costs. The latest estimates suggest costs haven’t stabilized, the Army told Congress in an e-mail, Bloomberg News reported. &#8226