Rotary Wing Upgrades and Sustainment

SOCOMProcurementPartial Reconciliation0201RWUPGR

What it is

Rotary Wing Upgrades and Sustainment — a procurement program run by SOCOM.

What changed

No FY25→26 comparison — trajectory data incomplete for this line.

Who gets it

No award linkage at high confidence.

GAO oversight: DOD — 5 high-risk areas

Budget Figures

FY24 Actuals

$270.4M

FY25 Total

—

FY26 Request

$189.1M

FY25→26 Change

—

Budget Trajectory

FY24: $270.4M
FY26: $189.1M

FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why partial FY2026 data? →

No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 462 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →

Budget Line Items(workbook-cited)

Exhibit P-1

Account	Org	Type	Amount
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY24 Actuals	$270.4M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY25 Enacted	$214.6M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY26 Disc. Request	$189.1M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY26 Total	$189.1M

Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)

Project	All Prior Years	FY24 Actuals	FY25 Total	FY26 Base	FY26 Request
Program Element	$4.04B	$270.4M	$214.6M	$189.1M	$189.1M

Program Narratives

Description— ROTARY WING UPGRADES AND SUSTAINMENT

This P-1 Line Item provides ongoing reliability, maintainability, spares, equipment, weapons, and upgrades for fielded rotary wing aircraft and subsystems. These include: A/MH-6 Low Cost Modifications (LCM); A/MH-6 Block Upgrades; MH-47 Block Upgrades; MH-47 LCM; MH-60 LCM; Improved Rotary Wing Electro-Optical Sensor (IRES); Simulator Block Upgrades (SBUD); Commercial Spares; Special Operations Forces (SOF) Common Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance (TF/TA) Silent Knight Radar (SKR) or AN/APQ-187; Mission Processor Upgrade (MPU); and MH-60M Block Upgrades. SOF provides organic aviation support for worldwide contingency operations and low-intensity conflicts. The specialized aircraft for these missions must be capable of worldwide rapid deployment and operations in contested or anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environments in support of Multi-Domain Operations. These aircraft must also be capable of operating at extended ranges under adverse weather conditions to infiltrate, provide logistics for, reinforce, and extract SOF. These capabilities will be pursued via rapid fielding techniques when appropriate. ELEMENT FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 Unclassified $163.915 $140.298 $115.101 Classified $106.450 $74.263 $73.958 TOTAL $270.366 $214.561 $189.059

Justification— ROTARY WING UPGRADES AND SUSTAINMENT

1. The A/MH-6, Program Number 828, LCM include modifications to the A/MH-6 application of Commercial Engine Bulletins and Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness directives, SO-peculiar (p) Engineering Change Proposals (ECP), spares, and minor modifications to SO-p equipment to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities. The A/MH-6 aircraft is the USSOCOM's only urban attack and assault platform and provides reconnaissance, close air support (CAS), precision strike, infiltration (infil), exfiltration (exfil), and resupply of SOF teams in hostile, denied, and politically sensitive areas that allows the Joint Force to be more agile and responsive to combat missions, Irregular Warfare and MOOTW. The A/MH-6 program has been designated a Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5135.02, the guidance in DoD Instruction 5000.85. The A/MH-6M is an ACAT III program in Full Rate Production. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Funds various hardware (includes modifications to the lightweight planks and lightweight auxiliary fuel tank) and software solutions to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities. 2. The MH-47, Program Number 830, LCM includes the Army ECP modifications due to the unique configuration of SOF aircraft, SO-p ECPs, spares, and minor modifications to SO-p equipment is required to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities. The MH-47G aircraft is the USSOCOM's only heavy assault platform and provides long-range, high speed, all weather, and resupply of SOF teams in hostile, denied, and politically sensitive areas that allows the Joint Force to be more agile and responsive to combat missions, Irregular Warfare and Military Operations Other than War (MOOTW). The MH-47 program has been designated a Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5135.02, the guidance in DoD Instruction 5000.85. The MH-47 is an ACAT II program in Full Rate Production. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Funds various hardware (includes modifications to the shipboard tiedowns and antennas) and software solutions to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities. 3. The MH-60, Program Number 827, Low-Cost Modifications (LCM) include modifications to the MH-60 to provide mission payload, greater range, SOF-p Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs), spares, and minor modifications to SOF-p equipment to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities including improvements over the enduring MH-60M fleet. This program supports modifications that are mission unique and time-sensitive. The MH-60M aircraft provides long-range, high speed, all weather, and resupply of SOF teams in hostile, denied, and politically sensitive areas that allows the Joint Force to be more agile and responsive to combat missions, Irregular Warfare and Military Operations Other than War (MOOTW). The MH-60 program has been designated a Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5135.02, the guidance in DoD Instruction 5000.85. The MH-60 is an ACAT II program in Full Rate Production. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Funds various hardware [modifications to the engine barrier filter, miniguns, and Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction System (FRIES) fast rope bar] and software solutions to improve reliability and maintainability, correct deficiencies, address obsolescence, and incorporate mission critical capabilities. 4. The Simulator Block Upgrades (SBUD), Program Number 829, program procures hardware and software updates for six high fidelity special mission aircraft flight simulators for the MH-47, MH-60, A/MH-6, and related peripheral training devices. The simulator updates provide aviators the ability to train in the exact same helicopter configuration that the unit has on the flight line, ensuring no negative habits develop through training on the simulators. The SBUD ensures realistic full-spectrum training and mission rehearsal capabilities that reduce risk for complex mission sets; reduce overall cost; create positive training habits; and safely recreates the stresses of live training. These training devices have the highest utilization rate across the Army Aviation enterprise, ensuring the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (160th SOAR) meets their aviator throughput requirement by maximizing resources required to attain aircraft and mission critical capabilities proficiency. Future hardware delivery orders will be aligned to emerging platform concurrency and integration requirements. The SBUD program provides critical skill training for basic to advanced air crews in challenging profiles to prepare them for long-range, high speed, all weather, CAS, precision strike, reconnaissance, infil, exfil, and resupply missions. Planners can create full mission profile training scenarios that can be used by individual crews, linked training with multi-ship of same or different aircraft and can include ground force for full immersement. The simulators provide scenarios for pilots in extreme conditions (malfunctions/loss of engine) that cannot be practiced in the aircraft. The simulators are also utilized in conjunction with the aircraft's flight data recorder (black box) for accident investigations to replicate conditions of accidents. Training missions can be reviewed after mission completion to determine areas of focus for combat missions, Irregular Warfare and MOOTW. The SBUD program has been designated a MCA in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5135.02, the guidance in DoD Instruction 5000.8. The SBUD is an ACAT III program in Full Rate Production. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Funds procurement of one MH-47 simulator. Continues modifying simulator's hardware and software to match aircraft modifications and improvements as they are fielded. Simulator concurrency is time sensitive. Funds environment simulation modifications and Mission Rehearsal Exercise Training System (MRETS) upgrades and obsolescence necessary to represent real world changes in threat. 5. Commercial Spares provides replenishment and sparing of SO-p mission equipment components for Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) spare parts greater than the $350,000 Operation and Maintenance (O&M) individual item purchase threshold. Provides for in-service replacement of items damaged beyond economical repair. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Procures repair and spare parts over $350,000. 6. Classified Program details will be provided under separate cover.

No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 462 programs). why coverage is partial? →

Lobbying Mentions

Showing 25 of 93 from the Senate LDA disclosure database.

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATIONSustainment2024

Legislative issues related to defense article sustainment. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. No: 117-169); National