Having watched the Nordic program from the beginning (1998) and Australia's procurement of the Sea Sprite from close up, one has to ask: Are military requirements really the driving forces behind these programs? Urgency was a theme upon the issuance of the initial RFPs for these programs, sighting the requirements of each country's respective military. More than a dozen years later and their military forces are continuing to make due with 40+ year old machines.
Politics trumped real world requirements. Early in the Nordic program the combined National Program Groups cited the Blackhawk as being too mature (i.e. not modern enough) and the S-92 as being too immature (i.e. not proven). Boeings CH-47 and Eurocopter’s Super Puma were also rejected on similar arguments. The ultra modern unproven NH90 was the only man left standing.
