Potential export sales and partnerships are the reason that the second Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche armed-scout helicopter is being shown here, according to U.S. Army program manager Brig. Gen. Joseph L. Bergantz. Once the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) program starts, which is due to happen in March 2000, "we hope and expect that there will be foreign sales and international participation, like the Joint Strike Fighter," Bergantz said here on Monday.

The often-delayed program may finally be gathering more support in Pentagon and Congress, as the Army implements its plans for a "digital force." A boost in fiscal year 1999 funds could allow the second Comanche aircraft to fly in February, two months early. The Army has revised the program schedule so that the next six aircraft will be delivered in 2003, rather than 2002-but they will have the full mission equipment package (MEP), which previously was not due to arrive before 2004. They have been re-designated as pre-production prototype (PPP) articles, and will participate in the Army's Force XXI "digital army" exercises in 2004.

The Army has also moved the Comanche's fire control radar (FCR) program forward by five years, so that the first production aircraft, delivered in 2006, will have a radar-as will at least one of the PPP aircraft. Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have submitted proposals for the mast-mounted, active-array system, and the Boeing-Sikorsky team expects to pick a winner within a month.

The Comanche is well on the way to meeting the five "exit criteria" for an EMD go-ahead, says Gen. Bergantz. These include a 500-feet-per-minute vertical climb rate, a specified detection range for the FLIR, and a radar cross-section specification. A full-scale RCS model, with powered rotors, has been tested at Boeing's RCS range in Oregon. The radar must also be tower-tested before EMD starts.

The Comanche will complement unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) as a reconnaissance system, according to Army officers. UAVs provide wide-area surveillance from high altitudes, and long-endurance surveillance of fixed targets, while Comanche's crew can find and identify targets of opportunity and perform low-level reconnaissance.

By Bill Sweetman