FA18
Yes the BlackHawk has a slightly smaller cabin, no ramp and carries less gas, so cabin and range not as impressive as the NH90 with standard fuel, but the 701D powered UH-60M’s operating with a vastly improved cockpit and wide chord blades are knocking the spots of their predecessors with regards to performance at hot and high ops and dispatch reliability in the Stan. So to suggest the combat proven UH-60M would have provided no appreciable capability increase over the ageing Australian Army’s S-70A’s is simply ludicrous.
The U.S. Army BlackHawk’s in Iraq and Afghanistan have accumulated more than 1 million fleet flight hours without a single Class A material failure.........Not bad for an old technology [sic] platform.
If you placed UH-60M’s and NH-90’s side by side on the pan and told the grunts and crews alike to pick a cab to go fight in, I’ve no doubt the Hawk would be the platform of choice every time.
When the NH90 has proven combat experience and reliability under its belt, then let it stand side-by-side with other war fighting helicopters, but the introduction of the NH90 in any variant to any of the five or six nations with inventory has been a sorrowful tale to date, which might explain why many are looking elsewhere for their next acquisition.