The new VH-92A (above) is being worked on by the Navy and other experts after one burneed the White House South Lawn during a test run last September

Bloomberg: Trump’s New Helicopter Has a Flaw: It Scorches the White House Lawn

The presidential helicopter isn’t supposed to leave scorch marks on the White House lawn. So the Navy and Lockheed Martin Corp. are working to fix a “high risk” problem after the new Marine One did just that in a test without the president on board.

The first in a $5 billion fleet of new Marine One helicopters is supposed to be ready to go into service by September 2020. President Donald Trump already has showcased the new aircraft with a flyover during his Fourth of July appearance in Washington.

The previously undisclosed episode occurred last September, during a test “conducted in a manner very different than normal Marine Helicopter Squadron One operations to the White House South Lawn,” Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s testing office, said in an email.

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Update: Navy says Trump's new Marine One helicopters have a 'high risk' flaw they are trying to fix after an aircraft's exhaust scorched the White House Lawn on takeoff (Daily Mail).

WNU Editor: I am sure they will correct it before it goes into service next year.

Sikorsky Will Build The U.S. President's New Marine One Helicopter

Popular Mechanics: Sikorsky Will Build the President's New Marine One Helicopter

The VH-92A helicopter will carry the President of the United States and his entourage.

The U.S. Navy has awarded $542 million contract to Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, to build six new VH-92A helicopters. The helicopters will replace the current VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters used to ferry the President of the United States and his staff worldwide.

Today’s contract is for six VH-92A twin-engine helicopters. Two helicopters are already in testing and the Marines will eventually order a final fifteen, for a total of 23 aircraft. The helicopters will be maintained and operated by Marine helicopter squadron HMX-1 (“Nighthawks”), which is responsible for all White House military aircraft.

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WNU Editor: Six of these helicopters will be built.

More News On Sikorsky Being Awarded The Contract To Build Six New Marine One Helicopters

Sikorsky Awarded $542 Million for 6 Presidential Helos -- USNI News
Sikorsky awarded $542m to build six ‘Marine One’ helicopters -- Flight Global
Navy getting six new ‘Marine One’ helicopters in $500 million contract -- Stars and Stripes
Sikorsky awarded $542M for six VH-92A helicopters for presidential fleet -- UPI
Sikorsky Snatches Up $542 Million Contract to Build New Presidential Choppers -- Sputnik

Marine One Creating Its Own Blizzard On The White House's Snowy South Lawn (Photo Gallery)

Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

The Warzone/The Drive: Gorgeous Shots Of Marine One Creating Its Own Blizzard On The White House's Snowy South Lawn

Iconic Marine One looks beautiful landing in a winter wonderland of a White House, but it also packs its own blizzard along with it!

Nearly a foot of snow was dumped onto Washington D.C. and the surrounding area over the 36 hours, leaving a gorgeous winter wonderland in its aftermath. No matter what political turmoil is afoot on Capitol Hill, the White House always looks absolutely breathtaking when blanketed with snow. And few objects can stir up action in the white and wet stuff like the blades of a low flying helicopter, and in this particular case, a very special chopper at that—Marine One.

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WNU Editor: Nice photo-gallery at the link.

The Next U.S. Presidential Helicopter Makes Its Debut At The White House

A Sikorsky VH-92A lands at the White House during a test on September 22, 2018. The VH-92A will become the new presidential transport helicopter, replacing an aging fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters. Naval Air Systems Command photo.

USNI News: Next Presidential Helicopter Passes First Test Landing at White House

The next Presidential helicopter, the VH-92A built by Sikorsky, successfully landed at the White House during its first test run September, Naval Air Systems Command told USNI News this week.

Before most of Washington D.C. awoke on Saturday, Sept. 22, the VH-92A swooped in over the National Mall and landed on the White House lawn for the first time.

As part of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, Sikorsky was in 2014 awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build a fleet of six helicopters to start, but with options for the Navy to purchase up to 17 more helicopters. Lockheed Martin purchased Sikorsky after the contract award.

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WNU editor: It looks sleek.

More News On The Next U.S. Presidential Helicopter Making Its Debut At The White House

First Images Of New VH-92 Marine One Helicopter Landing On White House Lawn -- Warzone/The Drive
Check Out The New Presidential Helicopter Landing On the White House Lawn -- Rotor & Wing
Sikorsky VH-92A Aircraft Passes Initial Test to Become New Presidential Helicopter -- Executive Biz

Sikorsky Chosen To Build The Newest Fleet Of U.S. Presidential Helicopters

Marine One-to-be: An artist's rendering shows what Sikorsky's proposed 'VXX' presidential helicopter might look like

Obama To Spend $20BILLION On Helicopter Program To Replace His Private Fleet Of 23 Choppers - But They Won't Be Ready Until 2022 -- Daily Mail

* The tab for a new helicopter fleet will likely top $20 billion, including $3 billion spent between 2005 and 2009 on a program that was later canceled
* The new contract will buy 23 SIkorsky helicopters at an estimated cost of $400 million each – about the cost of the Air Force One 747 jet
* Duplicate choppers fly as decoys whenever a president takes off from the South Lawn; others are flown to Obama's travel destinations in advance
* Just one company bid on the project, raising questions about whether the Navy got a fair price
* A former senior Pentagon official said for the price, the new aircraft should have a 'solid gold toilet ... except that it would add too much weight'

The Department of Defense awarded a contract on Wednesday to a Connecticut company that will build a fleet of helicopters to replace the Marine One fleet that ferries U.S. presidents short distances.

The contract, given to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, will cost an initial $1,244,677,064 'for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement program.' For that price the U.S. Navy will get six test aircraft and all the necessary research & development.

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More News On Sikorsky Being Chosen To Build The Newest Fleet Of U.S. Presidential Helicopters

Sikorsky Wins $1.24 Billion Marine One Deal -- DoD Buzz
Sikorsky wins $1.24 billion deal for new Marine One helicopters -- Stars and Stripes/Hartford Courant
Sikorsky wins U.S. Navy deal for president's Marine One helicopters -- Reuters
Sikorsky Wins U.S. Navy Contract to Replace 'Marine One' Helicopter Fleet -- Wall Street Journal
Sikorsky wins $1.2 billion contract to build Marine One helicopters -- Washington Post
Sikorsky chosen for new fleet of presidential helicopters -- UPI
A Cheaper Marine One Still Not Exactly a Frugal Ride -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Sikorsky to Build Presidential Helicopter Fleet -- NBC
The New Marine Chopper Can Swallow Humongous Loads -- Jalopnik

Plans To Build A New Marine One Is 'Running Into Trouble'

A rendering of the helicopter that Sikorsky wants to build for the president. It may prove to be the only bidder. Sikorsky Aircraft

Few Suitors To Build A New Marine One -- New York Times

Wanting to clamp down on wasteful spending, President Obama halted a project to create new presidential helicopters four years ago, saying its soaring price was a symbol of government contracting “gone amok.”

But to the administration’s surprise, a new competition to build the helicopters much more cheaply is also running into trouble. Industry officials said that only one company, Sikorsky Aircraft, was likely to bid on the multibillion-dollar contract this week. And some of Sikorsky’s rivals are voicing an increasingly common complaint — that bid specifications are being written so narrowly they are driving away potential competitors.

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My Comment: Why is it that in Washington .... nothing is ever simple.

Pennsylvania Company Discovers Marine One Security Breach

Marine One (Image from Wikimedia)

From FOX News:

Sensitive information about Marine One was reportedly found by Tiversa employees at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.

A Pennsylvania company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Obama's helicopter, Marine One, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported.

Sensitive information about Marine One was reportedly found by Tiversa employees at an IP address in Tehran.

Tiversa CEO Bob Boback said a defense contractor in Bethesda, Md., had a file sharing program on one of their systems that contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One and financial information about the cost of the helicopter.

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My Comment: It is probably harmless .... P2P networks are like that .... but this is information that is best kept secret.