The Washington Post reports that “the last time the Pentagon tried to upgrade the president’s coolest ride — the fleet of helicopters that drop him at his doorstep on the South Lawn of the White House — it didn’t go well. Costs doubled. Delays sparked ridicule, then outrage. And President Obama, then just a few weeks in office, said it was “an example of the procurement process gone amok” before defense officials killed the program outright.”  

“It was an embarrassing debacle that cost $3.2 billion and produced no usable helicopter, turning an iconic symbol of presidential power into an illustration of government waste and incompetence. Now, five years later, the aircraft are more in need of replacement than ever, some almost 40 years old.”  

“So the Navy is on the verge of awarding the contract again — a process that will test whether it can learn from the past and whether the Pentagon can purchase major systems without busting budgets and deadlines.”