Special ops forces face helicopter shortage

Military officials on Tuesday acknowledged a helicopter shortfall plaguing Special Operations Forces, but said the Defense Department has a long-term plan to fill gaps in the in-demand force's aviation inventory.

The unpredictable security environment, with heavy deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan over the last several years, have strained special operators' helicopter assets, Gary Reid, deputy assistant Defense secretary for special operations and combating terrorism, told the House Armed Services Terrorism and Unconventional Threats Subcommittee.

The shortfall was exacerbated by early delays in fielding the Bell-Boeing CV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft, as well as delays in modifying some of the special operations forces' aircraft.

"You can't just go down and buy some helicopters," Reid said. "The simple mechanics of it all necessitate a four-year lead-in."

Army Col. Vincent Reap, U.S. Special Operations Command's director of maritime and rotary wing assessment, told the panel that the fiscal 2011 budget request is a "good starting point for a longer term look at this valuable asset."

The budget request follows a series of reviews of the military's helicopter inventory over the past 18 months, including the Joint Staff's Review of Helicopter Assets and an Army-sponsored RAND study, that all concluded a shortfall in rotary-wing capabilities within the military.

The budget request, Reap said, proposes "a transition from shortfall to upward momentum in the SOF rotary wing and tilt rotor aircraft programs."

For fiscal 2011, the Pentagon is requesting $6.3 billion in the base budget for special operations, plus an additional $3.5 billion in the war-funding request.

Included in the request is money to pay for procurement funding of eight more Boeing MH-47G heavy-lift helicopters, which are being transferred from the Army and refurbished to meet Special Operational Command standards, as well as procurement dollars for 16 new Sikorsky MH-60M medium-lift helicopters.

Also included in the Pentagon's fiscal 2011 request is funding to buy five CV-22 aircraft, to augment the 11 in the Air Force Special Operations Command's inventory. By fiscal 2016, AFSOC will have 50 CV-22s.

Terrorism and Unconventional Threats Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., who will mark up her portion of the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill next month, said her top priority is to provide the necessary resources -- including rotary-wing assets -- to the military to protect the country from terrorist threats.

"The good news is that the committee, the department, and SOCOM all recognize that rotary-wing shortfalls are a critical issue for our Special Operations Forces," she said. "The bad news is that much work remains to be done, and the proposed solutions may take years to implement."