Empire 1,
What's an MTP and MTF? Is this a battlefield role?
I agree with your comment about the Chinook. In fact a similar argument was running here in the 1970s, certainly well before that particular aircraft came into UK service. The concept of putting all your eggs in one basket or not was discussed in the context of whether the UK military should buy lots of cheaper, smaller helis (Hueys for example) or fewer, larger helicopters.
The purse string holders like big helicopters (and if possible only one pilot up front
). It's a cheap peacetime option but it suddenly becomes a very BAD idea when the first small arms burst brings the whole lot down in a heap because they shot the pilot.....