Based on the guidance from the Secretary of the Army, CDC established Qualitative Material Development Objectives (QMDO) for a rotary-wing aircraft with 195-knot (224 mph, 361 km/h) cruise speed, 220-knot (253 mph, 407 km/h) dash speed, and the capability to hover out-of-ground-effect (OGE) at 6,000 feet (1,830 m) on a 95 °F (35 °C) day. The speed requirements were derived from the speed of aircraft the helicopter would escort. The Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDRE) conditionally approved the changes to the development objectives, pending his review of the proposed program. He also directed the Army to determine whether or not any other helicopter could offer an improvement in performance over the UH-1B in the meantime.