Comanche Helicopter Program Just One of Numerous Weapons Systems Pentagon Should Scrap
News from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation For immediate release - Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Contact: Christopher Hellman, (202) 546-0795, ext. 197
Army’s Decision to Terminate the Comanche Helicopter Program Comanche Just One of Numerous Weapons Systems Pentagon Should Scrap
Washington D.C. - After spending nearly $7 billion of the U.S. taxpayers money during the past twenty years, the Army’s decision to terminate the Comanche helicopter represents sound planning and recognizes the changing threats to our country’s security, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a Pentagon watch-dog group.
“We applaud the Army’s decision, which reflects many of the concerns we’ve been raising about the Comanche for years,” said Christopher Hellman, military policy analyst at the Center. “Now its time for the Pentagon to see if the many other major weapons systems currently under development are still relevant.”
The end of the Cold War fundamentally changed the global security environment, while the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent efforts to combat terrorism have pointed to serious shortfalls in U.S. security capabilities. Like the Comanche, there are a host of legacy weapons systems from the Cold War - the F/A-22 fighter aircraft, the “Virginia” class attack submarine, and the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, to name just a few — which not only don’t address the true security challenges of the 21st century, they actually drain resources from critical programs that do.
“The Pentagon needs to subject these Cold War weapons to the same level of scrutiny that the Comanche has received,” said Hellman, “and with the same outcome.”
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