Interesting given the Italians went the other way on 139 v 149. As Leonardo are trying to flog the 149 to the UK I would have thought they would be very keen to have another NATO customer.
Are they just not confident in the 'scalable' integrated Defensive Aids Suite 'including Electronic Countermeasure Dispensing System (ECDS), Radar Warning, Receiver (RWR), Laser Warning Receiver, (LWR), Missile Warning System (MWS) and IR Jammer'; or only prepared to pay for the cheap end of the scale.
MTOW is all very well but surely if the crewed and fuelled but otherwise empty airframe is considerably lighter it can haul more at a lower MTOW. External load capacity is 149 2800kg v 70i 4082kg.
According to the brochures an AW.149 can carry 16 fully armed or 19 lightly armed troops v an S70i's 11 Troops + 2 Gunner/Crew Chief. Cabin volume is identical.
I wonder if it was the cost of the C2/4 and ISR 'extras' that swung it.