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.
Connecticut is a solidly blue state, so there is no political reason for the administration to put work there. Mark Esper is from the swing state of Pennsylvania. If Sikorsky does not win a contract, their future is not very bright, note their commercial sales suck. The Army seems to want best product and value, so I would discount politics at the Army level.