Competitor withdrawals leave CRH competition a one-horse race

The US Air Force's (USAF's) attempt to build a new combat search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter is well under way, but its future looks uncertain as three bidders have cancelled their plans to compete.

EADS North America, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have all confirmed to IHS Jane's that they will not be offering a bid to build the replacement for the USAF's fleet of 112 Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft.

The drop-outs leave Sikorsky, which is partnered with Lockheed Martin, as the only bidder currently still expressing interest. The bids are due on 3 January 2013.

"Sikorsky intends to continue with its proposal to offer the air force a proven, affordable combat rescue helicopter system to perform the critical mission of saving warfighters' lives," spokesman Frans Jurgens told IHS Jane's on 12 December.

The USAF released a final request for proposals (RfP) for the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) programme on 19 October after receiving input from industry on an earlier draft RfP.

The release of the final CRH contract notice marked the USAF's second attempt in recent years to launch a competition to build new helicopters for search and rescue, an effort previously known as the Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter (CSAR-X).