Materiel Acquisition Management of U.S. Army Attack Helicopters

The Army has produced attack helicopters without any clearly defined concept as to useful life. Until the publication of the Army Aviation Modernization Program (AAMP), the Army had not attempted to define an attack helicopter's useful life nor did it possess a strategy by which to modernize its attack helicopter force. Without a definition of useful life and a modernization strategy, the Army has had difficulty in justifying valid operational requirements to the legislature. This thesis investigates methods to aid in program clarification and analysis permitting more concise analysis and justification of the Army's requirements. This thesis historically defines the life cycles of existing attack helicopter programs. This is essential in determining the useful life of these helicopters and may bear on the requirement to procure a new system. Second, the thesis identifies criteria that are common to many acquisition programs that may be useful in model design which can be used to evaluate an attack helicopter program. This could aid in the determination as to whether or not to procure a new system or upgrade an existing system. Finally, a comparison of the existing system versus the model is made to determine what benefits there may be in use of the model and its utility.