(Jan. 7) – In December 2007, the Pentagon gave a no-bid contract worth more than $300 million to ARINC, a Maryland company, to buy 22 Russian helicopters that were urgently needed for Iraq's nascent military. Two years later, even after all of the money has been paid out, none of the helicopters have been delivered, the costs have increased and it's unclear when, if ever, the helicopters will be delivered.
Now, the Pentagon's quiet purchase of nearly a billion dollars worth of Russian helicopters for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is drawing fire from Congress. Democrats and Republicans are is questioning the military's rationale for buying the foreign equipment and blasting the price paid for aircraft that are traditionally cheaper to purchase and maintain.
And cheaper may not be the case now.
Contracts obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show considerable difference between the base price of the helicopters from Russia and the price paid through the U.S. government to ARINC, the prime contractor. The Russian subcontractor, Airfreight Aviation, offered the Russian helicopters for about $7.9 million each. ARINC then sold the helicopters, with Western modifications, for a unit price of between about $12.5 million and $13.5 million. Delivery delays increased the price even more.
"We find it disturbing that the cost per unit has gone up significantly compared to nine years ago," a Senate aide familiar with the issue told Sphere.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., blasted the deal last month in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Dodd complained that the Russian equipment was bought in a way that "rewards foreign companies with single-source contracts" and does not provide adequate oversight of the deals. "In sum, the United States has spent over $800 million of taxpayer funds on Russian airframes without ever conducting an analysis of alternatives or considering other airframes for the mission," Dodd wrote. The letter was co-signed by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
Connecticut is home to American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky.
Richard Shelby, a Republican senator from Alabama, another state with a substantial helicopter industrial base, demanded in a separate letter that the Pentagon stop purchasing Russian helicopters until a thorough analysis could be conducted. He also criticized the Iraqi deal, noting that "the $345 million U.S./Iraqi acquisition contract is nearly a year behind schedule and the cost of airframes has skyrocketed."
The Pentagon has acknowledged difficulties associated with buying Russian equipment, but defends the purchases for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as the most appropriate aircraft for these countries, which have experience operating Russian helicopters.
Pentagon officials speaking on background have said the delays and cost increases are the partly the result of getting the U.S. State Department to agree to allow the integration of Western equipment on foreign aircraft, which requires sharing technical details with the Russians. ARINC, in the meantime, has been given a contract for an additional 10 helicopters for Afghanistan. Those helicopters also have not been delivered yet.
The Pentagon's policy on buying Russian helicopters is complicated by another factor: the U.S has sanctions placed on Russian's arms export agency, Rosoboronexport, for allegedly selling weapons to Iran. Those sanctions, in theory, prevent the U.S. government from buying any military equipment from Russia.
To get around the sanctions, the Pentagon sought and received a waiver specifically allowing it to buy Russian helicopters, creating the bizarre situation whereby the U.S. government is exempting the only major military equipment it buys from Russia.
Buying Russian helicopters has always been a tricky business for the U.S. government. During the Cold War, the U.S. quietly bought Russian equipment, including helicopters, in order to test the Soviets' military capabilities. Such purchases often required dealing with gunrunners and arms smugglers.
The CIA has also bought Russian helicopters to operate for its own clandestine air wing, including for its 2001 Jawbreaker operations in Afghanistan that helped bring down the Taliban. Two people involved in those helicopter purchases – an Army official and a contractor – were brought to trial and sent to prison in 2007 in connection with that deal.
Over the past several years, many of the Pentagon's purchases were handled through an obscure office in Huntsville, Ala., known as the Threat Systems Management Office, which specializes in obtaining foreign equipment for simulation. But as the contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan mounted, so did the problems.
In one case, VIP Russian helicopters bought to transport Afghan President Hamid Karzai – and equipped with flat-panel TVs and leather chairs – had to be sent back to the company that bought them and modified when they proved too heavy to fly safely.
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