Originally Posted by
chopper2004
Few months earlier in June I attended Paris Air Show and got close and personal to the SOF version so my photos below, Not a mock up but the prototype, think its their first production SOF one (?)
cant recall if the air to air refueling is still an option as proposed and show on their mock up back at ILA Berlin 2022.
cheers
I see machine gun mounts in sliding openings above the main undercarriage sponsons on both port and starboard sides. That seems new for this version. I wonder whether such an arrangement might have satisfied the Australian Army given machine gun mounting arrangement on MRH90 was considered a shortcoming as it hindered troop egress.
The pylons for missiles / external tanks seem very bulky but I have just realised the cabin doors need to be able to slide past the back of them when opening.
I get the feeling all these accessories have been difficult to integrate into the design as they were probably never factored into the original layout.
Wonder if NHI consortium (how ever it currently exists) will get the opportunity to design a next generation military helicopter based on lessons learned from NH90?