Originally Posted by
EESDL
So - Leonardo have been pushing an O&G machine painted black and calling it a mil-spec helicopter - that has yet to start out on the military specification journey and only meets 50% of KURs required by Army. The price will be eye-watering for a basic airframe and long-term costs will no doubt be significantly higher and designed to extract the pi55.
Political blackmail raises its ugly head and we end up ordering brand new helicopters for a ‘stop-gap’ measure that will be over before they are up-to-speed - with the promise of an overseas company pumping billions into SW of England which, if previous history repeats itself, will never arrive.
all the while there is the option of purchasing updated ‘pre-loved’ alternative that is battle proven, out performs the new guys, half the price and can be produced in UK - and we still wonder why procurement is in a state??
The Australian Black Hawks (assuming those are the "pre loved" helicopters you're referring to) won't make it through to the arrival of whatever NGRC/FVL happens to be in the 2040 timeframe anymore than the current Pumas will.
The whole point of NMH is to bridge that gap , and so a 'new' type is needed. Better to adapt an already existing design (be it the AW149 or H175) with UK kit (and so preserve/create UK jobs) than to reinvent the wheel by designing from scratch an entirely new type.
Either that or we gap the medium lift helicopter capability.