First Huey replacement helicopter delivered to US Air Force

Boeing announced on Monday it has delivered the first production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter to the U.S. Air Force.

The helicopter will be stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Boeing said, where airmen will use it to patrol the sprawling Minuteman III nuclear missile fields surrounding the base.

The MH-139 is a militarized version of Italian aerospace firm Leonardo’s AW139 commercial helicopter, and will replace some of the Air Force’s Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys to conduct security patrols at nuclear missile bases.

“This aircraft will directly support ongoing U.S. Air Force modernization efforts,” Azeem Khan, Boeing’s MH-139 executive director and program manager, said in a statement on Aug. 5. “Delivering this asset for the MH-139A fleet is critical to the future of national security as the Grey Wolf will play a crucial role in the U.S. nuclear triad for decades to come.”

Boeing last year finished delivering six test MH-139s to the Air Force, ending its research, development, test and evaluation phase and shifting the program to production. The Air Force also in spring 2023 awarded Boeing and Leonardo a $285 million low-rate initial production contract to start building the first 13 Grey Wolf helicopters.

The Air Force then awarded Boeing another contract for seven more MH-139s, bringing the total number of the helicopters on contract to 26.

But the Air Force has since dramatically slashed its planned purchase of the helicopter, which is now leading to cost overrun problems.

The service originally intended to buy 80 Grey Wolf helicopters to patrol nuclear missile fields, transport senior officials in the Washington area and conduct other missions.

Facing tight budgets, the Air Force decided to cut its planned Grey Wolf purchase almost in half, and now expects to buy 42 helicopters. The service also plans to keep some older Hueys at the Air Force District of Washington, Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state, Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico and Duke Field in Florida.

But the attempt to save money had consequences. Because the service now plans to buy fewer MH-139s, the individual price of each helicopter has gone up enough to trigger a cost overrun process known as a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach.

This breach triggers a review that could result in a program getting canceled, unless the Pentagon certifies to Congress that it is essential to national security and has no other cheaper options to get the job done.

The Pentagon also has to show the program is a higher priority than other programs, which could feasibly be cut to pay for it if its new cost estimates are reasonable and the management structure in place can control further cost growth.

The Air Force said in April, when the Nunn-McCurdy breach was announced, that the Grey Wolf’s quantity-related breach could be resolved by Congress adding more MH-139s back into the budget.

To make the MH-139, Leonardo first produces the underlying helicopter at its facility in northeast Philadelphia, Boeing said. The aircraft are then modified by Boeing to install the necessary military equipment.

Boeing said in January that it had finished building the first production Grey Wolf in December 2023, and that it was undergoing flight testing at Leonardo’s Philadelphia facility.