Sven,. .. .I think you too are falling in to the trap of cherry picking from the requirements sheet. I spoke to 84’s Sqn Cdr this morning (he’s not ‘LambJ’ as I thought) and he said they wanted 4-axis to improve safety/accuracy when operating at high hover heights in the slack winds and poor vis Cyprus summer mornings (when most FJ dets operate). He also said that an added value benefit of getting 4-axis would be a night overwater capability – something 84 don’t have with the Wessex as STC are prepared to take that at risk. You rightly pointed out that the King’s performance Hot & High is not good but at sea level, where 84 spend most of their time, it could lift loads of troops and has loads of space to work on stretcher casualties.. .. .As for cost. It appears that COMR costs went through the roof when the contractors realised they wouldn’t be tax free, couldn’t live in the SBA, had to be able to deploy to surrounding countries etc etc. It certainly aint Shawbury.. .. .Yella R&G,. .. .Irrespective of the Republic’s declaration of SAR cover, Akrotiri still host APCs and I don’t think they’ve reached the ‘host nation support’ stage yet. Also, will the Republic’s SAR Force really cover the region – what about going to the north?. .. .LambJ,. .. .Your emotion to your engineers is commendable but you’ve reached a new era as you appear to have recognised. Your COMR will arrive next year and those left on the Sqn will almost certainly enjoy playing with the new toy. And by the way, your Sqn Cdr knows who you are.