The exclusion of the HMD “from the current sources sought announcement is not intended to direct the acquisition to currently certified DVE solutions within the DoD inventory,” according to AFLCMC/WIU. “The decision is based on a strategic approach to de-risk the program by prioritizing the fielding of a mature, baseline DVE capability. The integration of an HMD is a complex undertaking with its own set of technical and integration challenges. The government has determined that these challenges are best addressed in a separate, future acquisition effort. This approach allows the program to focus on delivering a core DVE solution to the warfighter in a more timely and efficient manner.”
In the past, legislators have said that DVES is a key system for the HH-60Ws.
The HH-60W entered engineering manufacturing and development (EMD) in 2014 and full-rate production in April, 2023.
In fiscal 2023, the Air Force planned to reduce its planned buy of HH-60Ws from 113 to 75, but the service now plans to buy 89 production helicopters across seven lots, and funding “is available to procure 100 aircraft, including the four EMD, five system demonstration test article, and two modernization test aircraft, according to the service’s fiscal 2026 budget request.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.
