One of the Pentagon's biggest wastes of public money came to an abrupt end Monday, when the Army announced it had canceled the $38-billion Comanche helicopter program. The Cold War-era craft - decades late, and billions of dollars over budget - outlived even the Soviet bloc armies the helicopter was designed to attack. Such is a testament to the trough that the Pentagon, military contractors and members of Congress feed from to further their careers at taxpayer expense.
Even after 21 years and $7-billion, not a single Comanche was made operational, and the people behind it wanted six more years to get production up to speed. The copter was designed to fly air reconnaissance missions, supporting battlefield attacks and targeting fire where it was needed. But what really took off over the years was the price each craft would cost - $59-million, versus the original $12-million.
If Congress approves, that money will now go to buy hundreds of additional Black Hawk helicopters and to upgrade the Apache fleet, along with other improvements. The Army will also spend more on unmanned drones, which can perform some Comanche tasks cheaper and without risking a pilot's life.
That some power brokers in Washington cannot easily let the Comanche go speaks to the underlying challenge of doing away with obsolete weapons systems. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is right to seek a nimbler, quicker-reaction force, to avail himself of new technology to meet emerging threats. There is no place in American military strategy or the budget for relics like the Comanche.
Scrapping the Comanche program is a good decision, but the waste doesn't stop there.
