A U.S. Air Force MH-139 conducts a hoist test on April 26.
PHILADELPHIA—The U.S. Air Force and Boeing are in the early stages of discussing potential changes to the interior layout of the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter following issues that arose in initial testing, but Boeing says it is focused on delivering the initial batches of helicopters as is under the established contract.
Boeing has delivered four of the six aircraft ordered under the research, development, test and evaluation contract, with two more set to be delivered this summer, says Azeem Khan, Boeing’s director of MH-139 and developmental programs. The Air Force announced its Milestone C production decision for the helicopter in March, and subsequently placed an order for 13 low-rate initial production aircraft. The first of those will be delivered in late 2024, about 19 months after the order, he says.
The initial batch of helicopters were produced at a rate of about one per month, and the Boeing-Leonardo team says it is capable of producing up to 16 per year. The current program of record stands at 80 aircraft. Allesandro Caffaro, Leonardo’s director of U.S. government and military expert programs, says the company could surge commercial AW139 helicopter production to other sites globally to allow for more production capacity at its facility here.
Issues with the helicopter have arisen during initial testing. The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation in its 2022 report on the program said concerns persist about the capability of the cabin layout to support armed tactical response forces. A November 2022 RAND Corp. report also outlined a misunderstanding between the Air Force and Boeing on the requirements for the gunner’s position, which resulted in an unexpected orientation that technically meets design requirements but not operator expectations.
Khan says there are initial discussions with the Air Force on what changes could be made on the cabin configuration, with a potential change to come later as part of a future Engineering Change Proposal. But right now, Boeing is not changing the cabin configuration based on the contract. The MH-139 is outfitted for nine crew, two special mission aviators and two pilots.
Another issue with the program has been the accessibility of technical data and intellectual property. As part of the award process, the Air Force had focused on receiving this data for the aircraft to ensure future maintainability. While Boeing signed up to deliver technical data as part of the award, Leonardo had rights to the underlying aircraft and there was not a contractual requirement. The Air Force said it worked to ensure there was a plan with milestones to get the relevant data. Khan said it has agreed on a plan and it is in the works, but would not provide more detail. Boeing and the Air Force are in discussions about the need for future depot-level maintenance, he says.
