I didn't see anyone bash Bush but, since you brought it up, don't you find this a little wasteful?
I understand, reading the article that it is for 27 aircraft but:
(a) Do we need 27?
(b) That's $225 Mil a piece.
(a) Do we need 27?
Yes. It’s not like you can just pick a helicopter up and drop it somewhere else.
How long will they use this fleet for?
You'd have to see how much a current new fleet of marine one helicopters now that they are using would cost.
I don't even know who made this decision. Probably the secret service.
Good to know Hillary and Bubba will get the reward.
Ugh I am getting so tired of listening to kneejerk whiners on this website.
Could you please point out the specific waste here? What system is overpriced? What part of the aircraft is going to be sold for outrageously more than it cost to research, develop or manufacture?
Here let me answer the questions for you...
"I don't know."
Then how in the hell can you whine that anything about this is wasteful?
Shut up you twit.
"Do we need 27?"
Apparently someone infinitely more qualified than you has decided that we do.
The Executive Flight Detachment at HMX-1 provides rotary winged transportation for more people than the President. Currently HMX-1 is equipped with 11 VH-3s and 8 VH-60s so in order to complete all of their tasked missions, a fleet of 27 wouldn't be out of the ordinary.
That's $225 Mil a piece.
Converting a stock tactical transport into what amounts to be a flying White House ain't cheap.