US Army Abandons FARA Program in Aviation Investment Rebalance
The US Army has announced plans to abandon its Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft program. In an announcement, posted on 8 February, the Army stated that the decision was driven by the “lessons learned and a sober assessment of the modern battlefield.”
Development of the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft will be discontinue at the conclusion of prototyping activities this year but investment in the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program will continue. Elsewhere the US Army plans to recapitalise on projects to produce new airframes rather than continue mid-life refits and life-extensions.
In a statement Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said:
“These steps enable us to work with industry to deliver critical capabilities as part of the joint force, place the Army on a sustainable strategic path, and continue the Army’s broader modernization plan which is the service’s most significant modernization effort in more than four decades.”
Significant cost increases on the production of the Blackhawk UH-60V, which extends service life of existing airframes by 10 years, has led to the decision to cease the UH-60V upgrade program.
Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George noted that the Army will focus on Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System, which awarded Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems prototype development contracts ast year, Launched Effects, and commercial small unmanned aircraft systems. General George added that the Army is “learning from the battlefield—especially in Ukraine—that aerial reconnaissance has fundamentally changed”.
Elsewhere the Improved Turbine Engine (ITEP) program will be delayed “to ensure adequate time to integrate it with AH-64 and UH-60 platforms.” In terms of unmanned platforms it is planned to phase out operations and sustainment of several legacy unmanned aircraft systems including AAI RQ-7 Shadow (which entered service in 2002) and the AeroVironment RQ-11 (which entered service in 2004). Further funding will be allocated to “expand and accelerate the Army’s unmanned aerial reconnaissance capability including future tactical unmanned aerial systems and launched effects.”
Full rate production of the CH-47F Block II Chinook is formally planned while the Army will remain committed to the Black Hawk with plans for a new multi-year contract to procure the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. These new airframes will have a 20+ year service life.
The FARA Program was launched in October 2018 to develop a successor to the Bell OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter. The US Army had made numerous previous attempts to select a new reconnaissance helicopter including the abortive Light Helicopter Experimental, Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter and Armed Aerial Scout programs. In 2020 Sikorsky’s Raider X and Bell’s 360 Invictus were down selected for development. The Army has spent an estimated $2 billion on the FARA program.