Replacing FARA Furture Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft

It would have been much easier if they had just said that two aircraft programs at the same time was not affordable.
 
yasotay said:
It would have been much easier if they had just said that two aircraft programs at the same time was not affordable.
Click to expand...
What other aircraft program are you talking about in this context? FLRAA?

As far as I know there is no ambitious unmanned rotorcraft on the horizon similar to UCAR back in the early 2000s when the Comanche was canceled. That choice was defended with much of the same logic being repeated here. Of course, that central claim that UAVs could do the entire role wasn't exactly true then, as evidenced by the two following programs for a scout helicopter. It seems to me like there is a sizeable cap in capability between the relatively small cheap quadcopters and the bigger fixed wing models in use.

As with the Comanche cancellation I get the importance of modernizing the designs already in service. But given the geopolitical concerns at the time (and now) it's hard for me to believe that the funds can't be found within the vast amount the DoD has to work with.

If this current logic continues to be pursued, I fear we'll see cuts to the Apache fleet in coming years. Personally, I am not convinced that attack or reconnaissance helicopters represent a dead-end. I think using something like FARA to "quarterback" smaller drones is a better choice than this idea the drones will do it all themselves. They haven't even fully figured out how that latter idea would work.
 
The Army leadership doesn't know what they want to do or agree and that is big problem. Spending lots of tax payer money and getting nothing for it. The Army does not have a good track record and should be held accountable. But as we know in Govt, you screw up, you just get promoted to screw up more, like CEOs. FARA has a place and should be integrated into kind of an Army Loyal Wingman/CCA type of CONOPS. So when things start getting really hot on the global stage, US then panics and throws lots of money to either accelerate or re-instate various other programs including FARA, seems this is the way we like to work unfortunately.
 
I was indeed referring to FLRAA. The U.S. Army budget line, by percentage, is decreasing. The Army Aviation portfolio consumed ~25% of that budget. FARA would likely have required a fair amount of change (money) to meet operational specification.
To be clear I am right there with you on the necessity for a platform like this. I am frustrated that senior officials used haphazard analysis to validate the decision, vice honesty.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom