Figure 3-7 Updated. Age and Inventory of Army Helicopters |
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- This chart updates Figure 3-7 of CBO's February 2004 Web document. It shows the age (top part of the chart) and inventory (bottom part of the chart) of the Army's helicopters.
- Although the Army has bought few helicopters recently, it has retired a large number of older helicopters as it has reduced its total helicopter inventory to less than half the size of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those retirements have allowed the average age of the helicopter fleet to remain within or close to the target half-life range.
- Beginning around 2008, projected deliveries of new armed reconnaissance and utility helicopters will cause the average age of the fleet to stabilize, decline, and then stabilize again.
- The average age of the Army's helicopter fleet declines more rapidly in this projection than in CBO's February 2004 projection because the Army's new plans introduce more new helicopters into the fleet, and introduce them sooner, than the Comanche program would have done.
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