In re the article:
Dan, do you remember the original LHX "vision" of the 80's, where there was only one pilot?
Guess that vision didn't work out.
Were you around for the Navy's "Helo Master Plan" in the 90's? It boiled down to "Sikorsky makes it" in a practical sense, except for the USMC element. ( Seem to also recall a Navy Secretary trying to build an all Grumman Air Wing for the carriers, F-14's and A-6's and naught else.)
With that in mind, I'll take the article you presented with a grain of salt. These vision things are mutable. But it is interesting to see what some of the Army planners are looking into. Thanks for the post.
For industry, the implications of making the transition to JMR are stark. The military services currently support three large rotorcraft companies based in the USA, as well as two relatively recent entrants from Europe with the army's
EADS North America UH-72A Lakota and the US Coast Guard's AgustaWestland MH-68. At least 25 basic helicopter and tiltrotor models are in service across the fleet, which include trainers, cargo, utility, scout and attack systems.
I have reason to believe that scout roles will all become more and more UAV centric, with attack roles shared between UAV and manned, in the time line (2020-2040) that the article discusses.
I too may be wrong.
I think the assumptions on the breakdown between manned and unmanned is not going to be as rosy as this author proposes, nor the panel suggests.
As for the four engined C-130 tilt rotor ... that idea's been around since the mid 90's ... will be interesting to see if it ever comes to fruition.