Small fleet, fewer flights weaken Army aircraft training, report says
By Todd South
Monday, Sep 9, 2024
US soldiers and members of the Indonesian military board a UH-60 Black Hawk. (Spc. William D. Kennedy III/Army)
U.S. Army helicopter crews are flying one-third of the hours they did at the peak of the past two decades, as the number of manned aircraft has declined by 20%, according to a government report.
The same report also noted that the Army saw the availability of aircraft increase as its fleet of craft has gotten younger. The Congressional Budget Office’s findings, aimed at documenting how the Army is using its aircraft, are based on service aviation data from 2000 to 2023.
In 2011, the Army saw its peak of average flying hours in manned aircraft, the majority of which are helicopters.
At that time, air crews flew an average of 302 hours each year. As of 2023, the average flight hours have dropped by more than one-third to 198 hours, according to the report.
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-army/2024/09/09/report-shows-a-smaller-us-army-aircraft-fleet-with-fewer-flying-hours/
