Defense Department kills Textron Inc. program

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department has canceled the Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, made by the Bell Helicopter division of Providence-based Textron Inc., citing the $6.27 billion program’s mushrooming costs and delays.
In a statement issued last week, the DoD said development costs for the helicopter have increased to an estimated $942 million, from an originally planned $359 million, Bloomberg News reported.
The the average unit cost of the aircraft had risen to $14.48 million from $8.56 million, the department added, while the delivery date of the helicopter had been pushed back to 2013 from 2009.
The decision was made by John Young, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in consultation with senior Pentagon and Army officials, the Pentagon said in the statement. •