mattyj, ever worked on 412's?? probably not if you think they are a good military machine. the 205's are ok for the moment, but the army requirement is for a rifle company to be airlifted in one hit. that was the requirement years ago when i worked on them, and it would take about 18 serviceable 205's to do it, on a cool day, at low altitude, and for short range only. having worked on 412's for a few years, they are worse than 205's in many respects. they are heavier, and the 'improvements' the 412 has over the 205 have lowered their reliability.
at least the nh-90 has some growth potential, the 205 is at the end of its growth. they are underpowered for hot and high ops, and they run out of left pedal when heavy and hot and high (waiberia in summer for example). i had a crawl over an nh-90 at the production line in italy, and was quite impressed. also saw the naval version flying, and spoke to a couple of mechanics working in the experimental department. there are teething problems, as with all new type helicopters, but with a bit of perserverance i think it will be worth the wait. and no, i am not in the military. i got out 8 years ago. i just managed to sneak into the 'wrong' building when i was left unattended at the Agusta factory
i don't know what differences there are between land based and naval, and i don't know if there are differences between italian asembled and french assembled.
what's the difference between a new build 412, and a 1965 UH-1H/205???
The number of blades and engines!!! one good thing about the 412. helicopter mechs like myself will NEVER be out of work while people keep buying them thinking they are reliable. Hahahahaha