Originally Posted by
212man
The whole programme paid lip service to the expression ‘upgrade’ and I think the only components that stayed were the cockpit doors and nameplates! The key point was the funding and overall programme process was administered in a totally different manner to a tender for a new type, so was a quicker and more streamlined “purchase”, with fewer hurdles to jump over.
What killed the UH-1N to Y conversion was when the early Ns came into the upgrade process their physical condition was so much worse than what the Gov't told the contractor that they would be it was actually cheaper and more practical to just build new ones.