![]() Later that month the helicopter was officially named RAH-66 Comanche. In April 1991, the Army awarded the Boeing–Sikorsky team a $2.8 billion contract to complete six prototypes. During the 1990s, the program's name was changed from LHX to simply Light Helicopter (LH). In October 1988, the Army announced two teams, these being Boeing– Sikorsky and Bell– McDonnell Douglas, received contracts to further develop their concepts. Then in 1988 a formal request for proposal (RFP) was issued to various manufacturers the requirement had evolved into a battlefield reconnaissance helicopter by this time. Army initiated the Light Helicopter Experimental (LHX) program with the aim of producing a replacement for several existing rotorcraft, including the UH-1, AH-1, OH-6, and OH-58 helicopters. Since program cancellation, both of the prototypes have been placed on public display.ĭevelopment Origins and LHX ĭuring 1982, the U.S. The Army also announced new plans to accelerate the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which could also perform the scouting role intended for the Comanche, but with less risk. Army announced the termination of the Comanche program, stating they had determined that the RAH-66 would require numerous upgrades to be viable on the battlefield and that the service would instead direct the bulk of its rotary systems funds to renovating its existing attack, utility, and reconnaissance helicopters. Multiple government agencies had acted to cut the number of Comanches on order, but, as a consequence of the heavy reductions to the numbers to be procured, the unit costs soared. ![]() As early as the late 1990s, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had reported that it had "serious doubts" about the program, observing that the Comanche would "consume almost two thirds of the whole Aviation budget by Fiscal Year 2008". At the time, the projected total cost for the full production of the Comanche in such numbers stood at $26.9 billion. However, during 2002, the Comanche program underwent heavy restructuring the number of Comanches that were to be purchased was cut to 650. On 1 June 2000, the program entered its $3.1 billion engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. Two RAH-66 prototypes were constructed and underwent flight testing between 19. It was also armed with one rotary cannon and could carry missiles and rockets in internal bays and optionally on stub wings for light attack duties. Operationally, it was to employ advanced sensors in its reconnaissance role, in which it was intended to designate targets for the AH-64 Apache. The Comanche was to incorporate several advanced elements, such as stealth technologies, and a number of previously untried design features. Nearly a decade later, following the refinement of requirements, evaluation of submissions, and the rebranding of the program as the Light Helicopter (LH) program, during April 1991, the Army announced the selection of the Boeing– Sikorsky team's design as the contest winner, shortly after which a contract for construction of prototypes was awarded. ![]() Army started to formulate requirements for the replacement of its helicopters then in service, which resulted in the launch of the Light Helicopter Experimental (LHX) program. Following decades of development, the RAH-66 program was canceled in 2004 before mass production began, by which point nearly US$7 billion had been spent on the program.ĭuring the early 1980s, the U.S. The Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche is an American stealth armed reconnaissance and attack helicopter designed for the United States Army. ![]()
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