SD, I laughed out loud.
Originally Posted by
Commando Cody
It won a competition to develop something to hold the line in Vietnam until Cheyenne could get there.
And it grew from those humble beginnings into a good attack helicopter with various improvements along the way. Almost a case of "better lucky than good" in terms of the Army and the Marines getting an attack helicopter.
Sikorsky fully funded the Raider X prototype (not the FARA) on their own and teammate funding, absent any government request.
Bell funded the original Cobra prototype using only company funding, again absent, any government request.
Interesting parallel.
Originally Posted by
Tango and Cash
Invictus seems like a conventional, "safer" alternative, something that will more or less perform as advertised
I also think that it will be easier to deploy (more per C-17 load) as it will be smaller. But we'll see.
Raider X seems to be a riskier approach with lots of unknowns
Both the A-12 and the V-22 were in that zone, one lived and one died.
A lot comes down to what the Army wants these aircraft to do, and it appears to this observer that the Army isn't sure what they want until they see what the aircraft can do
"I'll know it when I see it" may not be the best approach to a major DoD acquisition program.
Withholding further judgment until the things have actually flown...
T & C: all around nice post.
