https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/08/03/air-force-to-delay-full-rate-production-of-grey-wolf-helicopter/
WASHINGTON — Boeing’s MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter will enter full-rate production
later than expected, a U.S. Air Force program executive said Tuesday.
The Grey Wolf program was initially scheduled for a Milestone C decision by the end
of fiscal 2021, which would trigger the start of full-rate production.
However, ongoing delays in certifying the aircraft with the FAA will force the service
to push off the milestone, said Col. William Rogers, the Air Force’s program executive
officer for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and special operations forces.
“We are in the process of revisiting our acquisition program baseline,
and will be briefing the [service acquisition executive, Darlene Costello]
in the near future,” he told reporters during a media roundtable.
Rogers declined to provide further details on when the Milestone C decision could
be made, saying it will be up to Costello to approve new target and threshold dates.
The MH-139A is a militarized version of Italian aviation firm Leonardo’s AW139
commercial helicopter, which has already been certified by the
European Union Aviation Safety Agency, but once Boeing got its fingers in the mix
the aircraft became UN-Certifiable
The Air Force and Boeing underestimated how long it would take to obtain
supplemental type certifications (STCs) for the MH-139, which are necessary
to begin developmental testing and make a full-rate production decision,
Rogers said.
On top of that, Boeing is also having to redesign one of the sensor fairings on the
front half of the aircraft, which have been discovered to impact the airflow to the
helicopter’s pitot tubes — potentially leading to incorrect airspeed readings that
can trigger another Max like crash.