Lockheed Martin Corp has won a contract to build the next generation of presidential helicopters, the Pentagon said Friday.
There had been intense competition for the contract whose award to a European design breaks with a tradition that for decades kept a US-designed and made helicopter in the presidential fleet, news reports said.
The five helicopters for a total cost of US$1.7 billion will replace the current fleet that includes 30-year-old aircraft that were designed in the 1960s and came into service in the 1970s, the Navy said.
The new ones will be more capable of carrying the security and communications equipment a modern president needs, the Navy said. The helicopters are operated by the marines and go by the call name "Marine One" when the president is aboard.
Lockheed, the largest defense contractor in the US, defeated Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, which had held the contract for about 50 years and had designed and built the aircraft entirely in the US.
There had been pressure from the White House to close the deal on the contract after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, The New York Times reported. The first machine is expected to begin service in 2009.
The Lockheed bid, designed by Italian-owned AgustaWestland, was as backed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, both supporters of the US-led military campaign in Iraq.
The fuselage and rotor blades will be made in Britain, while the transmission will be made in Italy, NBC news reported. The new helicopter will have three engines, as opposed to two on the current aircraft.
It appeared the Navy had some reservations about the fast-track selection process for the new helicopter last week when it issued a report saying there was not enough time for sufficient pre-flight testing, The New York Times reported. But on Friday, Navy officials stood by the selection.
Sikorsky said its helicopter is faster and can fly farther than Lockheed's. Sikorsky had also campaigned on its design's domestic roots.
The crash of a Sikorsky-made helicopter in Iraq Wednesday in which 31 soldiers were killed came at the worst possible time for Sikorsky's bid even though the helicopter Sikorsky designed for the president was completely different from the one that crashed.
Lockheed will assemble the Marine One helicopters in Texas, while testing and development will be done in upstate New York, the Web site MarketWatch reported. About a third of the work will be done in Europe, the Defense Department said.
The helicopters ferry the president to and from his plane, and the president's walk between the White House and the aircraft have made for some of the most well-known images.
After former president Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 he famously turned to say goodbye on the helicopter steps, throwing his arms up and displaying the "V" for victory sign.
Photographers also captured former president Bill Clinton walking with daughter Chelsea between him and first lady Hillary on their way to the helicopter after he finally admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky in 1998.
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