Boeing has received an order for four additional MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, the first aircraft awarded under full-rate production, the company announced on Thursday.
The contract increases the number of MH-139As under contract to 42, of which Boeing has delivered 27. The U.S. Air Force declared initial operational capability for the helicopter in August.
The Grey Wolf is replacing the UH-1N Huey, primarily for missions that protect the Air Force's Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile fields. Boeing developed the military helicopter from Leonardo's AW139, a widely used commercial design.
That starting point was expected to reduce development risk, but the program encountered delays during certification and testing. Modifications required for the military version needed additional Federal Aviation Administration approval, which took longer than initially planned.
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The certification problems contributed to delays in developmental testing and the production schedule. The Air Force did not request additional MH-139As in its fiscal 2022 budget while it waited for the process to move forward.
Certification was completed in 2022, allowing the service to expand testing. Subsequent evaluations identified other issues, including limitations involving crosswinds and low-visibility operations, debris ingestion during hovering and deficiencies affecting some mission equipment.
Fleet cut triggered cost breach
The program then faced a different problem. The Air Force originally expected to acquire about 80 Grey Wolfs, but in 2024 reduced the planned fleet to 42 aircraft because of budget cuts.
The reduction triggered a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach, a mechanism used by the Pentagon when the calculated unit cost of a weapons program rises beyond established thresholds. In the Grey Wolf's case, the sharp reduction in the number of helicopters was a major reason for the increase in average program cost.
The Air Force subsequently reconsidered part of that cut. Current budget documents call for 56 MH-139As, still well below the original plan but 14 more than the number now under contract.
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Operational missions have also begun. In January, MH-139As assigned to the 40th Helicopter Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base conducted their first operational security mission for a Minuteman III convoy. The helicopters covered more than 100 miles during a mission lasting about six hours without refueling.
The Air Force declared initial operational capability on August 10, several years after the Grey Wolf was originally expected to begin replacing the UH-1N fleet.
Boeing assembles the military equipment and mission systems for the MH-139A in Philadelphia after Leonardo produces the base AW139 at its nearby facility in Pennsylvania.
