Bell ARH - 70 Arapaho The Bell ARH - 70 Arapaho is a four - bladed , single - engine , light military helicopter designed for the United States Army ' s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter ( ARH ) program . With a crew of two and optimized for urban combat , the ARH - 70 was slated to replace the Army ' s aging OH - 58D Kiowa Warrior . Excessive delays and growth in program costs forced its cancellation on 16 October 2008 , when the Department of Defense failed to certify the program to Congress . The ARH - 70 was touted as having been built with off - the - shelf technology ; the airframe was based on Bell ' s commercially successful Bell 407 . Development . On 23 February 2004 , the U . S . Army announced their decision to cancel the RAH - 66 Comanche helicopter program . The program had cost US $ 6 . 9 billion and 20 years of development without fielding a production aircraft . The cancellation was a result of a six - month Army study directed by Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker . The study recommended that by canceling the program before the Comanche reached production , the Army could save US $ 14 billion which could then be used to update and replace the aging airframes of the current fleet . The OH - 58D Kiowa Warrior was targeted by the study for replacement in the active service fleet , based on the age of the airframe , recent losses , and the lack of replacement airframes . The Army developed an armed reconnaissance helicopter concept that would use commercial off - the - shelf ( COTS ) technology , with a goal of an operational unit of 30 helicopters and eight trainers ready by September 2008 . On 9 December 2004 , Army officials issued a request for proposals ( RFP ) for the ARH . Two companies submitted bids : On 29 July 2005 , the Army announced Bell as the winner of a contract for 368 helicopters . There was some confusion as Bell figures placed the contract value at US $ 2 . 2 billion while Army estimates were over US $ 3 billion , compared to its earlier estimate of US $ 2 . 36 billion . The contract called for the development of prototypes and the delivery of pre - production aircraft to the Army for the Limited User Test ( LUT ) , with the first unit equipped by the end of September 2008 . Flight test program . Bell ' s ARH demonstrator , a modified Bell 407 ( s / n 53343 / N91796 ) , first flew on 3 June 2005 . In February 2006 , the ARH demonstrator flew with a limited avionics and Mission Equipment Package ( MEP ) , and in April , Bell fitted and mounted the Honeywell HTS900 - 2 engine to the demonstrator airframe , followed by a series of ground runs . The first flight of the ARH - 70 occurred on 20 July 2006 , at Bell ' s XworX facility in Arlington , Texas . The flight had been delayed , first in March and then in May , to allow Bell to configure the prototypes as pre - production aircraft . Bell and the Army both eventually agreed that this delay would be essential for maintaining the compressed timeline for development . On 21 February 2007 , during its maiden flight , prototype # 4 ( s / n 53906 / N445HR ) suffered a loss of engine power , due to fuel starvation , and made an autorotational landing at a nearby golf course . The aircraft was damaged beyond repair when it rolled over during the landing , but the test pilots survived and were not injured . Program cost problems . A month later , on 22 March 2007 , the Army issued a " Stop Work " notice , giving Bell thirty days to come up with a plan to get the ARH program back on track . Previous estimates for the System Development Demonstration portion of the program had grown from $ 210 million to over $ 300 million . Textron , Bell ' s parent company , notified investors that they could lose $ 2 – 4 million on each aircraft under the contract . Bell appealed and received permission to continue development using company funds until the notice was resolved . On 18 May 2007 , the Army approved continuation of the ARH program . On 25 July 2007 , the House Appropriations Committee ’ s Defense panel drafted a bill for the 2008 Defense Budget which zeroed out funding for ARH - 70 production , citing Bell ' s inability to enter production , but continued funding for research and development . However , in January 2008 , government officials began working on export policy to allow international sales of the ARH - 70 . Including the U . S . Army ' s expected total of 512 helicopters , orders were anticipated to total over 1000 . The Army filed a Nunn - McCurdy cost and schedule breach on 9 July 2008 , when new cost estimates showed a 40 % cost increase above initial estimates . In August 2008 , the Army requested that Bell cease hiring workers for the ARH - 70 program pending the outcome of the Nunn - McCurdy review . Cancellation . On 16 October 2008 , the Army ' s Acquisition Executive Office for Aviation directed that the ARH contract be terminated completely for the convenience of the government . The cancellation was the result of the United States Department of Defense ( DOD ) not certifying the US $ 6 . 2 billion ARH - 70 program to Congress . John Young , the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition , Technology and Logistics , cited the reason as excessive costs of the program which had increased over 70 percent with an estimated per - unit cost of US $ 14 . 5 million , up from US $ 8 . 5 million .