this is the Army's first real foray into using civil certification, rather than a MILSPEC.
i bet the A/C option wasn't listed as a requirement on the contract negotiated withe Eurocopter. I suspect there well could be other items that crop up. sadly, the Army views A/C as a 'creature comfort,' which is a four-letter word to the brass ("nothing's too good for our soldiers, and that's exactly what they'll get, nothing.")
I bet Eurocopter knew that the ventilation was so poor that crews complained of the excessive heat before they made the Army proposal. Furthermore, I bet that Eurocopter knew that avionics were failing due to the high heat generated in the nose of the aircraft as the result of poor ventilation, as reported by the media. They could have certainly proposed an a/c on the basic aircraft as part of their initial proposal but elected to leave this out to further increase their margins.
Of course this will greatly affect the payload, operating limits and further reduce its dismal hot and high capabilities. Eurocopter probably figured its not a realy problem unless the customer complains, if they do then we will charge them for mission creep. What a bunch of bunk, just like their hot and high capability.
I also don't agree with your statement regarding a/c and the Army. The AH64 has an outstanding a/c system that cools not only the pilots but the avionics bays also.
By the way, the Army purchased over 100 TH-67's (slightly modified 206bIII's)as a commercial product and currently maintain them as commercial aircraft.