Pentagon deems new presidential helicopter built by Lockheed Martin unreliable in emergency situations: report
The helicopter also has the potential to scorch portions of the White House South Lawn
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President Biden will have to wait a while longer to take flight in a new presidential helicopter built by Lockheed Martin, as it has been deemed by the Pentagon unreliable in emergency situations and not "operationally suitable," according to a report.
Bloomberg reports that the Biden administration "hasn’t yet determined if the helicopter can be put into operation because it’s still assessing its safety."
President Joe Biden boards Marine One as he leaves Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press)
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An internal summary from the Pentagon testing office for senior defense officials, which was obtained by Bloomberg, states the helicopter is "failing to meet the reliability, availability or maintainability threshold requirements."
The helicopter is a part of the $5 billion VH-92 aircraft program, which aims to replace the current fleet used by Biden and other high-ranking officials.
VH-92A® helicopter on the tarmac at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River. The VH-92A test aircraft have proven their production readiness by undergoing rigorous U.S. government testing and operational assessments, including more than 1,000 flight test h …
An unpublished report dated Sept. 28, as highlighted by Bloomberg, found the helicopter to be "operationally effective" for simple routine "administrative" missions while noting it to be ineffective for a "contingency operation mission," also known as an emergency flight.
The previous report also found fault with the Mission Communication System (MCS), noting a delay in critical communications at the start of contingency missions and an inability to support secure communicative measures.
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Marine One, with President Joe Biden on board, prepares to land at Rehoboth Beach, Del., Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh / AP Newsroom)
The helicopter also has the potential to scorch portions of the White House South Lawn, creating restrictions on where the aircraft will be able to land. "Spinning rotors and engine exhaust cause scorching in limited circumstances that first occurred in September 2018," Bloomberg reported.
Fox News did not receive an immediate response from Lockheed Martin or the White House.