Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Tuesday that UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) received $15.8 million in funding for health usage monitoring systems (HUMS) for Department of the Navy helicopters built in Vermont. The HUMS are part of the US military’s ongoing effort to provide more accurate diagnostics of aircraft component conditions, which improves overall readiness while lowering costs. The two contracts are split between the US Navy’s fleet of MH-60 Seahawk, and the US Marine Corps UH-1Y Super Huey and AH-1Z Viper.
Leahy announced the contracts while visiting Vergennes Tuesday for an update on UTAS’s work there, including on HUMs and the Guidance, Navigation, Control and Targeting (GNC&T) technology under development to turn existing weapons system like the Navy’s five-inch gun into smart weapons. Leahy is a leading member of the Defense Department’s budget committee, the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Leahy said: “These contracts are a continuing testimony to how Vermonters are cutting military costs and improving the condition of our equipment. The work that has been done on HUMs in Vergennes has made helicopter maintenance smarter, and the expertise developed here is already being put to work on new technologies that will revolutionize the way our military does business. From the next frontier of HUMs, to the incredible work being done to make ordnance more discriminate, it’s clear that Vergennes is at the forefront of making military operations smarter.”
VERGENNES (TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2016) – Senator Patrick Leahy