Gentlemen, let's give to Ceasar what belongs unto Him.
Nick's quote: "At 198 knots, they must have been feeding the engines dynamite, or have been in the proverbial "shallow dive" was referring to the BERP IV blades trials report and not the in flight refuelling carried out behind an Italian aircraft.
And in case someone forgets, there are ALWAYS politics involved anytime a military program of ANY nation looks at airframes from another country for their domestic needs.
Especially in a great country like the USA with only one helicopter manufacturer left, the last two out of three helicopter programs were awarded to foreign airframes.