ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Army is rebalancing its aviation portfolio with planned upgrades to current platforms and a shift toward future investment in unmanned systems, the service’s senior leaders said.

In testimony before the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, Douglas Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, offered specifics of the Army’s aviation investment plans and how conflicts overseas have informed the service’s understanding of future combat.

The Army National Guard has ordered an aviation safety stand-down of all its helicopter units following two accidents in February, including a crash that killed two Mississippi Army National Guard pilots.

The length of the stand-down, which went into effect Feb. 26, is “undetermined,” said Capt. Jamie Mason, an Army National Guard spokesman.

More than 55 years after a harrowing rescue in Vietnam, former Army aviator Capt. Larry Taylor received the Medal of Honor during a Sept. 5 ceremony at the White House.

In June 1968 near Ap Go Cong, Vietnam, Taylor, flying an AH-1 Cobra gunship, repeatedly braved enemy fire to rescue a four-man long-range reconnaissance patrol team that was surrounded by a much larger enemy force.

Former Capt. Larry Taylor, a helicopter pilot who repeatedly braved enemy fire to rescue troops trapped on the ground during a fierce battle in Vietnam, will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions, the White House announced Sept. 1.

As the Army undergoes its biggest transformation in decades and prepares for large-scale combat operations against near-peer adversaries, soldiers must always “have the best equipment to fight and win our nation’s wars,” a senior Army leader said.

Maj. Gen. Thomas O’Connor, commander of the Army Aviation and Missile Command, stressed the importance of honoring the past while transitioning to the future. “Those that have come before us—the impact they’ve had, the conditions they set, their innovative and creative ways to solve problems—we use that as a starting point,” he said.

The future of Army aviation will require soldiers to increase realistic training that effectively mimics hostile environments, a senior Army official said at a one-day seminar sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Army aviation units will focus on safety and training during a forcewide stand-down ordered after 12 soldiers were killed in two deadly helicopter crashes.

Nine soldiers were killed March 29 when their HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during training. On April 27, two AH-64 Apache helicopters collided near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, killing three soldiers and seriously injuring a fourth. Both incidents are still under investigation. The Army said there is no indication of any pattern between the two incidents.

Managing the aviation supply chain in a contested environment will require more forethought and planning than ever before, Army and industry leaders said.

In just the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic, a national labor shortage and technological advances that can be used by adversaries to disrupt operations have already had an impact on the supply chain.

Army program offices responsible for the aviation supply pipeline are addressing the risks early by working closely with intelligence officers to vet new vendors, order parts and equipment and approve subcontracts.

As it approaches its 40th birthday, the Army aviation branch is transforming to operate and fight on a complex, expansive and lethal future battlefield, a pair of senior aviation leaders said.

But as the branch looks to new, leap-ahead aircraft that can fly faster and farther, expanded unmanned capabilities and new doctrine and aviation formations, Army aviation’s purpose has never wavered, said Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry, commanding general of the Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, Alabama, and the 17th chief of the Army aviation branch.

Douglas Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, says his top priority is very simple: “The only thing that actually matters in the Army is equipping soldiers so they can fight and win.”

Speaking at an Army Aviation Hot Topic event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army, Bush said the Army has struggled in the past on designing, building and fielding new products. Times have changed, he said, with the Army on the edge of big changes.