The Hidden Cards
The hidden cards in this FARA competition are political influence and the military need to maintain the engineering capability of three helicopter manufacturers.
Having recently developed new aircraft, both Sikorsky and Bell both have strong engineering departments capable of clean sheet designs.
Sustaining engineering is far from being able to design a new aircraft from scratch. It has been over a quarter century since Boeing engineering partnered with Sikorsky on the Comanche, and with Bell on the Osprey. Forty five years have past since Boeing (actually Hughes) designed the Apache on their own.
If next month Boeing Vertol does not win the opportunity to design and build a FARA prototype aircraft, I don’t see their future as very promising.
Last edited by CTR; 28th Feb 2020 at 18:51.
Reason: Spelling