Originally Posted by
Lonewolf_50
I don't think there will be another go at this.
The war in Ukraine put paid to it.
Read up on RMA.
If this was in response to my comment, FWIW I must say that I believe the Ukraine War was an excuse, not a reason. The use of drones was new, but they actually weren't that capable in the aggregate. For one thing, the average distance of a drone mission was 7 km which is quite limiting. I personally believe that FARA was canceled because:
1. The mission was poorly thought out.. I have actually heard this from folks involved with one of the design teams. They were bidding anyway because of the potential size of the contract award.
2. The aircraft as specified couldn't be built. Even the Program Manager acknowledged this, and substantially changing the specs this late in the game would be embarrassing, expensive and could introduce all kinds of contract issues.
3. Despite what appears in the general press regarding the S-97 reducing risk, there was a very good chance that Bell would win. If they build both FLRAA and FARA, all kinds of industrial base issues come into play...what happens with Sikorsky?
Ukraine, IMHO, was a face saving explanation to get themselves out of a hole they had dug themselves into.