DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US-Russian Helicopter Deal Under Fire
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Defense News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 10, 2013: The US government is under fire for allegedly misleading the Congress into buying Russian transport helicopters for US troops in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon ordered 63 Russian Mi-17 rotorcrafts worth $1 billion over the past two years.
According to the Associated Press, senior Pentagon officials have repeatedly assured members of Congress that the Department of Defense had made the right call, citing a top-secret 2010 study that named the Mi-17 as the superior choice.
The report also states the Boeing Chinook was found to be “the most cost-effective single platform type fleet for the Afghan Air Force over a twenty-year” period.
The 2010 study "specifically analyzed the opportunity for DOD to provide a U.S. alternative to the Mi-17 for Afghanistan," the report said, adding the Boeing helicopter is larger than its Russian counterpart, carries up to a 26,000 pound payload, which is twice as much as the Mi-17, and can operate at nearly the same high altitude.
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