Congress is pushing the Air Force to speed up the replacement of the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys that are used to support security at nuclear missile bases: Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.; F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.

In the House version of the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations bill, which passed June 16 on a 282-138 vote, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., added a provision to add $80 million toward a competition to replace the Hueys.

"After years of inaction from the Air Force, I'm relieved to have the support of my colleagues in prioritizing the replacement of Malmstrom's aging helicopter fleet," said Zinke of the base in his home state. "The current Vietnam-era helicopters are not up to the job of defending our nuclear missile fields.

"Recent exercises have demonstrated ... that the Hueys do not have the range, speed, payload or defensive systems to adequately meet the alert requirements set by the Air Force," Zinke said. "Operation Mighty Guardian was a demonstration conducted at Minot AFB. In every instance that the Hueys were used, they failed the mission. However, every other modern helicopter successfully protected the nuclear missile sites."

Meanwhile, the Senate's version of the defense authorization bill, which passed June 15 on an 85-13 vote, included a provision from Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., requiring the Defense Department to certify any security shortfalls of the UH-1Ns at missile bases.

The provision also requires defense officials to report to Congress how it will mitigate those shortfalls with outside resources until the acquisition process for new helicopters is complete.

Daines had asked the Air Force to consider using Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters to augment the Hueys at Malmstrom, but the Air Force announced in May it would use a normal acquisition process to replace the missile base Hueys.

Earlier, the Air Force had proposed an immediate reprogramming action, based on a request from the U.S. Strategic Command commander, according to the Air Force, but after a thorough review, it reversed course. The Air Force "remains committed to a competitive acquisition approach," as reflected in the budget plan, service officials said in May. "The Air Force has taken multiple steps to mitigate shortfalls in mission requirements to enhance readiness and security of the nation's nuclear deterrent."

In the House version of the authorization bill, which passed in May, Zinke included a Huey provision to withhold 25 percent of the travel expenses of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics' travel expenses until DoD certifies that the Huey replacement acquisition process will be under contract by fiscal year 2018.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., also included a provision to push the Air Force to have replacement helicopters at Malmstrom before 2019, which is the Air Force's planned timeline.

According to congressional sources, defense officials have requested outside forces be sent to Malmstrom or F.E. Warren AFB. Whichever base gets the outside aircraft would sent its Hueys to augment the fleets at the other bases.

The military is considering the option, but no decision has been made.

"U.S. Strategic Command submitted a request to the Joint Staff to address shortfalls resulting from UH-1N performance limitations. The Joint Staff is currently working with us and the services to identify a solution. As part of that effort, the full range of Department of Defense assets and capabilities are being examined," said Lt. Col. Martin O'Donnell, Strategic Command spokesman.

Last year's defense budget included $2.456 million for the UH-1N Replacement System Program Office stand-up.

The Air Force's fiscal year 2017 budget request included $32.4 million in support of future year aircraft production, as well as procurement of production engineering support, ground support equipment, publications and technical data and program management activities.

Also included in the Air Force's FY17 budget request is $25 million for a Service Life Extension Program for a portion of the Huey fleet that involves things such as structural repairs and replacement of key systems based on structural fatigue, system obsolescence and a diminishing manufacturing industrial base. The UH-1N is a 45-year-old helicopter and the oldest in the Defense Department, and the work "is necessary to address concerns identified in multiple studies and to prevent the aircraft from being grounded," according to the budget justification.

It's part of a longer project to enable the SLEP of 30 Hueys that are needed to bridge the gap until the helicopters can be replaced.

Earlier budget proposals indicated that the Air Force had planned to replace the Huey by purchasing Army UH-60A Black Hawk models and converting them to UH-60L models using existing government contractor services by 2020 for an estimated $980 million.

The bill also includes funding $14.6 million for a new missile maintenance dispatch facility at Malmstrom. Last year's budget included $19.7 million for a new tactical response force alert facility.

The new helicopters and TRF program are replacing the current missile maintenance dispatch facility in Building 1440. The new facility will provide office space for managing and planning maintenance activity; storage for thousands of components and equipment for missile field; space for component repair and testing; and keep vehicles out of the weather and prolong resource lifespan of vehicles, according to the Air Force project description.

On-base facilities are required to inspect and repair components and equipment to be used or installed at ICBM launch and launch control facilities, according to the Air Force, and those facilities should increase efficiency of component and equipment transport from the repair shop to the installer. Maintenance teams use a variety of vehicles, including some that are specialized, to repair, maintain and replace all components.

Building 1440 will be retrofitted to house the new helicopters.

Staff writer Kent Miller contributed to this report

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