The U.S. Navy has temporarily halted “Increment 2” development of the VH-71 Marine One presidential helicopter replacement program and is reevaluating available options. However, Pentagon officials say the current contract remains in effect.
The action followed criticism of the program’s technical assumptions and development timetable by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as well as media revelations of a $6.2 billion overall program price tag and $270 million unit cost.
In a statement issued last month, the Navy said, “The VH-71 program is currently restructuring the Increment 2 program. Cost and schedule impacts will not be fully known until our assessment is complete, thoroughly vetted and approved by Department of Defense leadership. Any information regarding cost and schedule is pre-decisional in nature. Once we have an approved schedule, it will continue to be event-driven and one that places the president in a safe and fully tested platform.”
