HELICOPTER GIANTS BATTLE OVER COLOMBIAN DRUG MISSIONS

While Congress and the State Department quarrel over the release of $36
million to equip the Colombian National Police (CNP) with three UH-60L Black
Hawk utility helicopters, Sikorsky [UTX]--the manufacturer of the UH-60--and
Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] are scuffling over the appropriate mix of
helicopters needed to fly counter-drug operations in the beleaguered nation.

Though the issues related to helicopter support for the CNP's counter-drug
operations were supposed to have been resolved late last year, the State
Department's current reluctance to spend the $36 million Congress earmarked
for the CNP has led to another round of acrimonious debate.

On Capitol Hill, a vocal and powerful segment of Congress is adamant that
the money be spent on the purchase of the three Black Hawks and all that has
been deemed necessary for their support.

Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Committee on
International Relations, sent Thomas Pickering, the Under Secretary of State
for Political Affairs, a letter late last month both imploring him to
provide the CNP with Black Hawks and warning him of serious consequences
should the administration refuse.

In the letter Gilman plainly urged Pickering to provide the CNP with
helicopters that are more capable than Colombia's Bell UH-1s. "It makes no
sense to merely upgrade 40-year-old equipment that is already grounded or
not operating, and which cannot survive crashes or ground fire as well as
the Black Hawk," he wrote.

Additionally, Gilman warned Pickering and the Clinton administration that
the $36 million would have no other use if it is not to be expended on the
Black Hawks. According to Gilman, "[i]f the Administration continues to
block the delivery of Black Hawk helicopters, I will exercise my option to
hold the obligation of any State Department reprogramming requests dealing
with $36 million provided in the FY 1998 foreign operations appropriations
bill."

One Congressional source is confident that the impasse will be resolved in
favor of fielding the Black Hawks--because he believes the UH-60s are the
best equipment for the task.

"When you have a limited number of good men who are trained and capable of
flying in hostile combat conditions, fighting our fight for our kids, we
ought to give them the best equipment we can," the source said.

Despite Hueys having played a major role in shutting down a right-wing
paramilitary drug production lab recently--the lab was believed to be
capable of producing 70 tons of cocaine annually--there are many that feel
that in any configuration the single engined UH-1 lacks the power and
durability to afford the CNP an adequately broad range of operations.

Though not opposed to fielding Hueys, particularly in the improved Huey II
configuration, many people close to the issue contend there are too many
missions that tax the Hueys to the edge of their performance envelopes.

The Huey II is the product of a combined Bell and AlliedSignal [ALD] effort
that upgrades the UH-1Hs engine from the problematic T-53-L-13B
configuration to that of the T-53-L-703. The Huey II also derives better
performance from corresponding upgrades to the transmission, gearbox, rotor
blades, tail boom and drive system.

Once modified the Huey II improves its maximum weight from 9,500 to 10,500
pounds and provides an increase of 400 shaft horsepower (shp) to 1,800shp.

In contrast the UH-60L is equipped with two General Electric [GE] T700-701C
engines that provide 1,890shp each and can operate at a maximum weight of
22,000 pounds.

However, procuring the more powerful Black Hawk is also a more expensive
proposition than purchasing the upgrade kits for the Hueys--a point Bell has
seized upon in an attempt to reap benefits from the latest governmental impasse.

Recently a briefing document with the heading of "Huey II the 7-to-1
advantage" was obtained by sister publication Helicopter News. In that
document Bell advocated the procurement of seven Huey IIs for each of the
three UH-60s sought by the CNP and the leadership of the House Committee on
International Relations.

Bell contends that both the Huey II and the Black Hawk are capable of flying
the same counter-drug missions.

Furthermore, Bell promotes the procurement of 21 Huey IIs as being the more
cost effective solution to the problems faced by the CNP. According to Bell,
Huey IIs offer a 7:1 advantage in procurement costs and a 5:1 advantage in
operating costs (figures disputed by Sikorsky). Concluding "[i]t all adds
up. The Huey II meets all operational requirements at one-seventh the cost
of the Black Hawk."

Sikorsky and other sources close to Congress, however, see major differences
in the capabilities of the two aircraft. According to a Sikorsky response to
Bell's 7:1 document, "Bell Helicopter's attention to the issue of price in
its competition with Sikorsky is the only tactic available to them, since
the topics associated with function/performance all favor the BLACK HAWK.
Further, when lower price delivers equipment with limited capabilities such
as the Huey II--equipment that is incapable of meeting the scope of CNP
mission requirements--then Bell's argument is one of false economy."

One contention of Sikorsky's is that Bell is said to have attempted to
"limit" debate by giving consideration only to operations requiring Hover In
Ground Effect (HIGE) takeoffs. "If Hover Out Of Ground Effect (HOGE)
takeoffs are considered, both the UH-1H and the upgraded Huey II lose a
substantial portion of their useful load (fuel + payload capability). The
BLACK HAWK will also have a lower useful load capability, but it still
retains enough payload and fuel capability to do the mission," Sikorsky said.

As an example, Sikorsky maintains that in operations requiring HOGE takeoffs
the Huey II would only be able to fly seven troops a distance of 120
nautical miles, while the UH-60 could carry twice as many troops the same
distance.

A further contention of Sikorsky's, and an important consideration for those
hearing the debate on Capitol Hill, is that the UH-60 provides greater
crashworthiness and ballistic protection. According to Sikorsky, "[a]n
upgraded Huey II helicopter still suffers from the same combat deficiencies
inherent in the original UH-1 discovered in Vietnam at a high cost in human
lives. These deficiencies led to the US Army's fielding of the BLACK HAWK to
replace the UH-1." Specifically, Sikorsky touts the UH-60's crashworthiness
by citing that it provides crashworthy seats for the CNP whereas Huey II
does not and that the Black Hawk is "survivable" in crashes with impact
occurring at 50 ft/sec as opposed to 35 ft/sec for the UH-1.

Additionally, Sikorsky lauds the ballistic resistance of the UH-60.
According to Sikorsky, "[b]oth the UH-1 and Huey II are incapable of
providing the levels of battlefield survivability that the BLACK HAWK offers
in the hostile environment in which the CNP perform their drug interdiction
mission. The BLACK HAWK is the first US Army production helicopter designed
from its inception to minimize ballistic vulnerability. The designed-in
ballistic survivability has been optimized and proven through extensive
testing and actual combat damage."

In a "vulnerable area comparison," provided by Sikorsky, the UH-60 is shown
to be 100 percent less vulnerable than the UH-1 to 7.62mm munitions, 94
percent less vulnerable to 12.7mm threats and 82 percent less vulnerable to
threats posed by weapons firing projectiles as large as 23mm.

In the estimation of one Capitol Hill source, the survivability of the UH-60
is its most endearing quality--particularly as 40 percent of CNP helicopter
missions are said to draw ground fire.

For now, the debate is likely to amount to little more than posturing
between Bell and Sikorsky, as sources close to both Congress and Sikorsky
consider the most plausible course of action being the fielding of the three
Black Hawks.

However, even if the State Department opts to give the CNP the three UH-60s
they are asking for, the debate is likely to resurface in the near future.

Bell, it would seem, is correct in stating that three UH-60s will not be
enough to meet the needs of the CNP.

Both Sikorsky and the CNP have stated that six Black Hawks would be far
better for the war on drugs than three.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett