Problems Plague U.S. Purchase of Russian Helicopters for Iraqi Air Force, AVIATION WEEK’s DTI Reports

$322-million contract for 22 helicopters is over budget and behind schedule

NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. officials in Washington and in Baghdad tell Defense Technology International (DTI) that the U.S. Army’s controversial December 2007 decision to order 22 Mi-17 helicopters from Russia for the Iraqi air force has resulted in extensive delays and questionable procurement costs. The article “Helo Holdup” appears in the June 2009 issue of DTI, published by AVIATION WEEK.

“The U.S. Army signed off on an unusual procurement contract in December 2007: A $322-million order for 22 Russian helicopters bought through a U.S. defense company (Arinc of Annapolis, MD) for Iraq. The contract was a rush order, designed to deliver Mi-17 helicopters in a bid to quickly reequip the Iraqi air force and allow it to perform counterinsurgency operations,” according to the DTI article. “But 18 months after signing, not a single helicopter has been delivered, despite full payment. The Army now concedes the contract is over budget and nearly a year behind schedule.”

The contract raises questions about procurement costs, as the Army’s Threat Systems Management Office in Huntsville, AL, sole-sourced the contract to Arinc rather than soliciting multiple bids. Also in question is the overall process of buying equipment through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system instead of direct commercial sales. The FMS process is designed to avoid mistakes and corruption, but “it has not done much in the case of the Mi-17s to prevent delays, or even guarantee reasonable costs,” according to the DTI article. The piece cites Defense Department officials on mistakes made in the Mi-17 case for Iraq, as well as their views on the overall FMS process.

The full text of “Helo Holdup” is available in the June issue of DTI and at http://www.aviationweek.com/dti. For further comment, contact DTI Editor-in-Chief William Sweetman at william_sweetman@aviationweek.com.

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