Why was the “Comanche” helicopter program discontinued?
Comanche was a great helicopter designed for the Cold War. Its whole concept was to get through the enemy lines undetected and attack the enemy. It was a great design and would still be in development if we were in a “high intensity war”. The bottom line is that the AH-64D can do all the missions the Comanche was intended execute. The only draw back on the Apache is that it isn’t stealth and can never be stealth. The advantage for those in the Army Aviation community is that we were able to keep most of the money committed to the Comanche program. With that money the Army has upgraded all the other aircraft with the exception on the OH-58D, which was supposed to be replaced by the ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) which was just canceled a couple of months back due to failure to meet time line and cost overrun. The newest bells and whistles on the AH-64D, the new UH-60M, and the new CH-47E all owe a large portion of their existence to Comanche.
