Army Aviation Equipment Useful Life Cost Benefit Analysis

Abstract

Army Aviation is considering pursuing the development of a future vertical lift (FVL) aircraft to replace its aging medium variant helicopters, which are the UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64 Apache. The medium variant platforms comprise about 75% of the current Army fleet. Although its current fleet is over 30 years in age, to date, the Army is unsure whether the fleet should be replaced based upon cost, material condition, and technological capability. The critical issue is that the Army lacks objective research data to support the decision to either pursue a new aircraft or retain the current fleet. The intent of our research is to determine exactly how much any individual medium variant platform costs, per flight hour, and project its cost behavior over time. That information is then compared to a cost benefit analysis of a new build platform to help Army Aviation leadership with its FVL ambitions.