WASHINGTON — The Army is getting closer to minting a five-year contract with Boeing for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, which could generate a total of $528 million in savings, an Army spokeswoman told Defense News at the Association of the US Army conference.
Army Secretary John McHugh approved a request to execute the contract starting in fiscal 2017 through 2021, Sofia Bledsoe said.
The Apache program manager’s estimate, validated by the Army Cost and Economic Analysis Center, says is estimating that the contract will reduce the cost of the program by 12 percent. It would be the first multiyear contract for the Apache program.
Multiyear contracts tend to be good for the Defense Department because they typically reduce the cost of procuring systems. For example, one of the Army's most recent multiyear contracts in the aviation world saved the CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter program close to $1 billion.
The project office is shooting to deliver contract details to Defense Secretary Ash Carter for certification by March 2016, she added.
The Army has , for many years, multiyear contracts set up to purchase for UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter and buys as well as Chinooks.
The Army was unable to confirm how a yearlong continuing resolution might affect the future contract. Army acquisition chief Heidi Shyu offered some grim possibilities Tuesday at AUSA should the service have to work with a yearlong CR, including only being able to buy half of the Apaches planned in FY16. Chinook buys could also be cut in half.
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Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
