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Old 13th January 2018 | 19:03
  #20 (permalink)  
Evalu8ter
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From: Zummerset
Sandie,
I can assure you that I was not making the case for the -47 for the USMC. It does not meet it's requirements, and though perfectly capable of operating for a short time embarked (I've spent a couple of months at sea with few issues, albeit with extra husbandry) it is not a marinised design. It also will not lift some of the USMC loads. The USMC are getting the right frame for their needs - albeit at great cost.

My point was that IF you don't need to be at sea for a prolonged time, or lift USMC combat-configured loads, then it's a very expensive way of delivering payload to the battlefield when compared to the -47F. The likes of Germany will weigh up the acquisition/running cost of both aircraft, and then sprinkle offset and politics into the mix, and arrive at an answer. In the European context, and since Germany has stated that both aircraft meet their requirements, IMHO the increased cost/risk of -53K probably count against it.
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