Afghan - I'm tired of the discussion as well. Again I'm skeptical about your source - now you are admitting it is all hearsay (basically).
I can't be bothered checking, but I think your "source" has a few other things wrong.
In 2001 when discussing a possible buy with Sikorsky the offer was for UH-60M - new build birds. UH-60L are (IIRC) rebuilt older birds (this was at the time the US had a "thing" about new buys - thats why the Huey "Yankee" is not a "new aircraft" - you have to have part of the roof of an old Huey to build one - and I didn't get that from a source - that is directly from the briefings/discussions at Bell in Sept 2001 - I was there.)
So - you come on here - throw words around about how bad the aircraft is when it hasn't reached IOC yet (confirm if required Ermergov), have a few of us punch holes in some of your discussion, and now throw a hump and don't want to play anymore?
Oh - and how would a UH-60L meet the requirement to operate off the LPA's - after all, there is NO UH-60 unit that I know of operating a bird with folding blades - you see, the folding blade rotor head is off a Sea Hawk - and in 2001 during discussions with Sikorsky the company indicated we (the ADF) could get UH-60M's with folding rotor blades, if we (ADF) paid for the certification of said configuration. Same problem with the UH-1Y. And 60L's being the same as Sea Hawk for corrosion? Only if you treat it with the same sealants and anti-corrosive treatments etc during the build, becasue basically the aircraft is still metal, where as a large part of the NH-90 is carbon fibre composite (that doesn't rust). I doubt if most or all of the US 60L's you lust after are so treated. Emergov will back that up I'm sure.
Oh, and around 2003 when AIR 9000 was on trtack the decision to buy NH-90 was in line with the aims of the project - if followed through the ADF would operate Tiger, NH-90, Chinook (army) and the Navy Seasprite and Sea Hawk (although there was some discussion about considering the Naval version of the NH-90 for the RAN is a complete changeover/dropping of ALL Sikorsky product, but I'm prety sure the NFH - Nato Frigate Helo is it's title I believe - was about half a metre too big for the ANZAC's hangar............)
Emergov - well said. I was once close to the project in the early stages, participating in the 2001 visit to Bell, Boeing, Sikorsky, Westland and Eurocopter (should be able to work out who I am from that) - and everything you have said here aligns pretty closely with what I recall/know.
Last edited by scran; 15th Jan 2009 at 20:52.