New Rotorcraft 2013

OEMs tap lucrative oil and gas segment While the U.S. Congress has averted mandatory budget sequestration until March, including anticipated defense spending cuts, Pentagon watchers have been predicting a new austerity one way or the other for months. The impact all this will have on new helicopter development programs remains to be seen. OEMs contacted for this report by AIN declined to comment on the impact of the so-called “fiscal cliff” and its aftermath on current or future military helicopter programs. But some analysts are already forecasting that the military will opt to go with updates of existing helicopters for a variety of roles, including aerial scout and search-and-rescue. If this comes to pass it could dampen expectations that new technology, including that for compound helicopters, would eventually find its way into the civil sector. The same pressures apply to military spending throughout Europe and parts of Asia.