RJS,
Read my posts. I made no reference to new helicopters, nor "combat yadda yadda". IIRC, the S76 (the only specific reference I made) had its tail rotor control problems after about 5-6 years in commercial service, and probably (stress probably) by then had many tens of thousands of hours fleet wide.
I fully accept that the S-92 appears a marvellous bit of kit, and wish it well. Similarly, the Merlin is a well equipped and excellent helicopter which is plagued with serviceability problems; to quote a Merlin driver on another thread
1. When it works it's bl@@dy fantastic
2. problem is, previous point isn't happening quite as often as we'd like - Although this week's Welsh landaway is going swimmingly, apparently.
Standing on the sidelines, the virulent and vindictive attacks on the 101 don't appeal to me. Personal irrit, but there it is; such diatribes don't make me inclined to view the S-92 in a more favourable light, but reasoned argument does.