As has been pointed out in previous posts, both contender solutions are merely spinoffs of ‘Commercial Platforms’ and neither has any proven combat experience, let alone demonstrated that the multitude of bolt-on equipment options required in-role have yet to be designed, built, evaluated on-wing and certified to the satisfaction of the end-customer.
Add the multitude of customer SIRFC, comms, mission planning, datalink, hoist, fast-roping, rappelling, weapons mount, A2A refuelling and survivability options (electronic, structure, material safety, defence, etc.) Provisions, let alone Completions, I dread to think what the useful load and performance of either platform would be at final delivery.
A recipe for delay and cost overruns that is for sure and for what, to save a few hundred jobs that would be lost without this win?
Neither solution offers any real benefit to the UK taxpayer, as irrespective of what is ‘Promised’ for future export sales, if either helicopter were any good for the requirement, they would already have sold well to credible militaries in previous competitions, but alas not the case for either platform.
More importantly, neither is ‘fit-for-the-purpose’ in protecting those inside when things go horribly wrong.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.