The Light Helicopter (LHX) program is intended to provide the Army with a new generation of scout and attack helicopters that will replace many aging helicopters. The LHX program, estimated to cost over $40 billion, is among the Army's largest acquisitions and will be the Army's primary aircraft development and production program into the next century. The program faces significant development risks as the Army begins demonstration and validation of the LHX's technologies. Senator Lowell Weicker requested that GAO assess the program's progress toward achieving its goals, the technical and cost risks facing the program, and the Army's strategy for developing the LHX. The LHX is intended to be a lightweight helicopter capable of performing multiple missions against advanced enemy air defenses of the 1990s. The Army sees the LHX as the mainstay of its aviation fleet into the next century. It intends the LHX to perform both scout and attack helicopter functions, including (1) performing battlefield reconnaissance, (2) finding and attacking armored targets, (3) striking deep against enemy positions, and (4) engaging enemy helicopters in air combat. These capabilities, together with the goal of light weight, make the LHX a very advanced aircraft-on a par with the Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter. (sdw)


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